


Mother of Many

by EagleRavi_oli



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Angst and Humor, NaNoWriMo, Other, how to train your seija: written and directed by byakuren hijiri, probably me crying a lot, probably seija crying a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-09
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-04-30 18:35:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 130,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5174801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EagleRavi_oli/pseuds/EagleRavi_oli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Byakuren finds someone in need of saving.</p><p>Slow boil written for NaNoWriMo</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

Mornings in the Myouren Temple are fairly routine.

Before the sun even rises Mamizou Futatsuiwa sneaks back to her room to collapse immediately into a deep sleep that won’t be disturbed till at least noon, at which time she’ll promptly deny any sneaking of any kind to anyone who asks, anyone who does not ask, and occasionally to her own frazzled reflection.

354 days out of the year, Byakuren Hijiri is the first in the temple ready to take on the day. The other 11 days of the year, are justly exempted for the requirements that put her in the running for the title of _Gensokyo’s Best Morning Person_. 8 of these days are spent on her missionary trips to the former hell, in which the lack of sunlight throws off her internal clock, thus mornings and evenings really have no meaning to her. 2 of these days are her well earned sick days, on which she’ll sleep in much later, and wake at a still admittedly early time of 10AM. The last of those days is spent helping Kyouko Kasodani hurriedly finish her Choujuu Gigaku T-shirt that the Yamabiko annually decides to remake for the largest show she performs at, the Autumn Festival, then annually procrastinates remaking till the very last night. When this time of year rolls around, Byakuren and Kyouko will hurriedly work till dawn’s light on the shirt, then both will inevitably collapse and only wake when it’s just about time for Kyouko to get on stage (which will lead to more rush and panic.)

Kyouko is usually the next to rise. This time of the morning is always filled with loud yawns and groans that can be heard from anywhere in the temple. The Yamabiko’s echoing voice is a type of wake up call for the remainder of the temple.

Before long, Minamitsu Murasa’s head pops out of her room. A usual sight in the morning is her raven hair messy and stuck up at impossible angles. A less usual sight, although admittedly not all that uncommon, is her transparent forest green hair messy and stuck up at impossible angles. On nights the captain doesn’t sleep well, her physical body seems to laze away, leaving only a grainy green specter with a very groggy complexion. Although everyone in the temple is too accustomed to this sight to get spooked by her ghoulish appearance, on the occasion, when Murasa is especially worn out, her body will opt out of existing much at all, and will flicker through walls, people, bullets, and the occasional small animal. Again, the residents of the temple are familiar with this and have come to expect it from time to time, but that doesn’t prevent the occasional jump scare when a sleep deprived Murasa suddenly appears breathing down their necks.

After Murasa comes Shou Toramaru, and subsequently Nazrin, her roommate, follows right after her. Most people suspect that Nazrin would rather sleep in till the noon sun bakes her room to an unignorable heat, as she was the furthest thing from a morning person. But, Shou’s morning routine was apparently too noisy for her to sleep through. They would head down to breakfast the same way they did anything else, as a pair.

Ichirin Kumoi and Unzan appear next. Ichirin, in her chipper mood as always, and Unzan in his Unzan mood as always. Every morning, Ichirin’s grin announces “I’ve just had the best sleep of my life!” and then her grin parts as she opens her lips to say “I’ve just had the best sleep of my life!” Which might have gotten annoying if it had been anyone else, but Ichirin’s aura and admittedly cute chubby cheeks made it tolerable. Also, the fact that immediately after her announcement she would go to work preparing coffee for the entire temple definitely sweetens the deal.

Once in a blue moon Nue Houjuu would join the rest of the temple for breakfast. This is always unexpected, as Nue had a habit of disappearing for days on end. She would just vanish from the temple unannounced, then reappear equally unannounced. On the rare days she is very much in existence at the table, this usually rouses Mamizou from her slumber, and the tanuki joins in on the meal and occasionally on the conversation, although admittedly sluggishly.

Today was not one of those days. Neither Nue nor Mamizou had come for breakfast. As usual, it passed without incident. The Autumn Festival wasn’t for a few weeks, so there was no hurried panic there. Just as well, Murasa seemed to have a decent night of sleep so her entire being was present. All in all, ordinary.

After the dishes were cleaned and put away, Byakuren excused herself and moved to the front of the shrine to greet any early visitors. Kyouko trotted along behind her at her heels, ears bouncing a bit with each step. Byakuren slowed her steps a little so the Yamabiko’s short legs could keep up.

They exited through the front door to be met with a single pair of humans standing by the enormous green tinted bonsho bell. The humans had their heads bowed in a silent prayer. Unwanting to disturb them, Byakuren and Kyouko hung back and allowed them their privacy.

Kyouko looked up at the sky with a little huff of disappointment.

“Looks like rain.” She murmured quietly, although Kyouko’s “quiet” isn’t quite that. Byakuren looked up as well.

Indeed there were grey clouds approaching, there was a slight breeze in the air that carried the scent of ozone. It swept the hair gently out of their faces then set the windchimes nearby in motion. Byakuren nodded.

“It would seem so.” She agreed.

Kyouko huffed again and left Byakuren’s side. She disappeared momentarily behind a large wooden support column. Byakuren caught sight of her tail bobbing as she reappeared from behind it, only to be obscured again by the side of the building as she apparently had decided to go fetch her broom and get a start on sweeping before the rain hit.

Byakuren brought her eyes back to the humans and was glad to see they had planned ahead and brought an umbrella with them. The last time she had lent out umbrellas to visitors caught in a downpour, she had gotten quite a scolding from the karakasa obake that occasionally stayed in the temple, Kogasa Tatara, when a pair of children had lost their umbrella and failed to return it.

The humans looked up from their prayer and met eyes with her. She gave them a warm smile and bow before approaching. They bowed back when she stopped in front of them.

The humans were familiar to her. One was a young woman named Hamako. She had a plain flat face with straight black hair that was pulled back in a messy ponytail that had undoubtedly been jostled by the wind that had started picking up. The other was a stout elderly woman with white hair, her mother named Gen, although everyone who knew her addressed her as Gran, Byakuren had even caught Ichirin calling her this from time to time.

They were regulars at the shrine. Byakuen had even personally held the ceremony for Gran’s husband when he passed away. Byakuren knew that Hamako had a little girl that was almost always at her side, she was surprised to see that the child was not there.

Their expressions equally surprised Byakuren. They were difficult to read.

Byakuren blinked and opened her mouth to speak, but the old woman cut her off.

“Glad to see the temples still standin’.” She nodded in the direction of the Myouren Temple as if to say “this temple” to clear up any confusion that there might be, even though the nearest temple was several miles away.

“Oh?” Byakuren blinked, but before she could say anything more, Hamako spoke up.

“Did you hear the news? There was a small earthquake. No buildings in the village were damaged at all, but out a ways I’ve heard a few barns collapsed.”

“Oh my.” Byakuren put her hand over her mouth. “When?”

“Just ‘fore dawn.” Gran nodded again, this time to herself. “Was more a tremor really. Those barns musta been pretty weak ta have not survived it. Most’f us didn’t even wake up. Only knew ‘bout it from the farmers who were ‘ready in their fields. Well, and the broken barns. But no one ‘as hurt.”

Hamako nodded. “They said most of the damage was around here. But I guess your shrine was stronger than those barns.” She gave a small smile, “Were you awake? Did you not feel it?”

Byakuren thought back to earlier, but couldn’t recall any type of tremor, maybe she slept through it.

“I can’t recall anything out of the ordinary.” Byakuren said, then looked out down the stairs. There was a small break in the steps as they leveled out onto solid landing for a few feet. On that landing she could see the temple’s jizou statue standing against the wind. It had a red shawl wrapped around its shoulders that was flapping in the wind. Moss had grown up its base. At the very bottom the vegetation was green and healthy, but as it crept up higher it began to brown and dry with the summers close. She looked down past the steps that continued after that, but could see no one else coming. With rain on the way, and apparent damages that needed to be cleaned up, she could safely expect that Hamako and Gran were the only visitors she would have today.

While she was lost in that moment of thought, a raindrop landed on her nose, then another on the top of her head. Hamako and Gran apparently had felt the rain too as they started fumbling to get their umbrella open. Byakuren ushered them under the awning to keep them dry until they managed to open it.

It was a large red one made out of treated paper to keep the rain from soaking through it. Byakuren had to take a few steps back to avoid getting hit with it as Gran slung it over her shoulder as if it were a heavy bag. The next moment, Hamako huddled under it as well.

“We’ll be seeing you, Miss Hijiri.” She gave Byakuren a small polite bow, that Byakuren returned. “We’re glad your shrine wasn’t damaged.” She continued.

“Thank you for your concerns.” Byakuren gave them a smile. “I hope you get home safely.”

“Oh, we will.” Gran cackled. “I’m used to walkin’ around with a 4 year old clingin’ on my legs. A little rain won’t slow us down.” The pair stepped forward out from under the awning. Byakuren gave another little bow and watched them as they descended down the stairway and into the storm.

Above her, she heard a distant rumble of thunder. She decided that she needed to ask Mamizou if she knew anything about the earthquake.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Byakuren made her way back inside. As she walked out from under the awning fat raindrops landed on her and soaked through the shoulders of her top. The wind had definitely picked up in the past few minutes. A gust blew against her side and her now damp hair clung haphazardly to her cheek.

As she opened the front door, she was shoved aside by Kyouko who was yowling loudly enough to make the windows shake.

The young girl stopped just inside the threshold and shook off what dampness she could, ears flapping violently with the motion.

Byakuren shielded her face with her hand as the Yamabiko shook a wave of small droplets in her direction, then stepped inside once the threat of being splashed by her left.

“Sorry,” Kyouko said distractedly. She kicked off her geta and tucked them away in the nook by the door.

“It’s all right.” Byakuren said as she closed the door behind her.

Kyouko looked up at her and gave her a small guilty grin.

“Didn’t expect it to hit that hard! Sorry, no sweeping today.”

Byakuren chuckled a bit and shook her head.

“No worries, my child,” She bent down to remove her shoes as well. She tucked them away and dusted off her hands. “Just go dry yourself off.” She continued. “You remembered to bring in the laundry yesterday, right?”

There was a beat of silence, then Kyouko bolted back into the temple in the direction of the back door.

“SORRY!” Kyouko’s voice called back, unnecessarily loudly. The windows rattled again, but this time Byakuren could not tell if it was from Kyouko’s voice or from a large gust of wind.

She glanced out the windows as she made her way into the temple, storm clouds were nearly on top of them. She wondered where Nue was, and if she was somewhere dry.

She decided she would say a prayer for her after she spoke with Mamizou, and hurried along to the tanuki’s room.

Mamizou’s room was a ways into the temple, along the way a sliding door leading out into the far garden had fallen and was in need of repair. Byakuren didn’t exactly ever get the full story of how it was knocked off its tracks and torn, but from what she gathered Shou had come in one night drunk enough to be reduced to a stumbling mess, and had fallen through the door.

Alcohol was, of course, forbidden by her teachings, but Shou did sometimes stray, and when she did it was always straight to the bar. But, bless her, she did try.

As Byakuren passed the fallen door, a gust of cool air blew in, casting raindrops onto the wooden floor. From somewhere outside, she heard Murasa’s voice yelling about something. She must have gotten caught in the rain.

Mamizou’s room wasn’t very far in from the broken door. Byakuren rounded the hallway’s corner and was met by it. She knocked a few times and waited for a reply.

“Miss Mamizou, are you awake?” She called.

From inside there was movement, and a few groans. Byakuren waited.

A little more movement, Byakuren waited some more.

The movement stopped. Byakuren knocked again, hoping Mamizou hadn’t fallen back asleep.

“Miss-” She began, but the movement started again. She heard footsteps, then the next moment, Mamizou opened the door.

Her hair was a mess and was even more unruly than usual, her ears were barely visible in the nest of curls. Her glasses were stuck haphazardly on the tip of her nose like she had just shoved them on her face (she had), and the loose tank top she was wearing was slipping off her shoulder.

Mamizou hung onto the door as if she needed it for support, and her heavy lidded sleep filled eyes blinked at Byakuren slowly, as if they couldn’t stay open.

“Oh, Hijiri.” She yawned so widely it exposed all of her teeth.

Byakuren offered her a small bow.

“Sorry to wake you.”

“Nah, I wasn’t asleep. Didja need something?” Mamizou stood up straight and scratched at her ear.

“Oh, yes, I was hoping to talk to you about something. Have a moment?” Byakuren asked.

“Uh,” Mamizou, scratched her ear again, then her chin, “Sure.”

“I was wondering, this morning you didn’t happen to feel an earthquake, did you?”

Mamizou tightened her lips as if she were trying to stifle a yawn, and nudged her glasses up onto her nose a little.

“Oh, sure.” Mamizou answered, as if someone had just asked her if she enjoyed coffee.

Byakuren frowned a bit.

“You did?”

“Yeah, felt some shaking. Wasn’t really too much. Didn’t feel like much of an earthquake. Just thought the Taoists were throwing some kinda party down there, ya know.” Mamizou shrugged, her glasses slid back down her nose. She didn’t adjust them again.

“Some humans said a few barns fell.”

“Which ones? The ones down the road? Hijiri, those things have been standing since..” She yawned, “I dunno, since a long time ago. A strong wind coulda blew ‘em down.”

Byakuren nodded.

“I suppose. Still, it’s terrible that they fell. I’ll probably head down to help clean up once this rain stops. Mamizou, do you still have those thick work gloves?”

“Ugh uh,” Mamizou’s brow furrowed she closed her eyes, it seemed this kind of thinking was a bit too difficult for her in this state. She fell quiet, apparently attempting to recall.

In this lull in the conversation, Byakuren heard Murasa’s voice again, still coming from outside. She turned her head a little to try to make out what she was saying, but to no avail. It definitely didn’t sound like the voice of someone who was just caught in the rain. And anyway, by now she should have made it inside.

“Miss Mamizou.” Byakuren said suddenly.

Mamizou’s eyes snapped open. She looked a bit startled as if she’d forgotten Byakuren was still standing there.

“Oh, uh.” Mamizou yawned again. “What were we-?”

“No worries.” Byakuren waved it off. “Please excuse me.” She turned to leave but stopped after a few steps. “You should get some rest.”

Mamizou’s door slid shut half an instant later in response. Byakuren smiled a bit, then continued on to the broken door. She listened, straining her ear to hear where Murasa’s voice was coming from. She seemed to be somewhere out in front of the shrine.

Byakuren began heading that way through the temple.

From a hallway just up ahead, rapid footsteps were headed in her direction. A moment later, Ichirin rounded the corner at top Ichirin speed, and nearly toppled into Byakuren.

“You need to come quick!” Ichirin panted, and took Byakuren’s hand. She tugged her forward and broke into a sprint again. Byakuren struggled to keep up with her, and not trip over her feet in front of her.

“What’s wrong?” Byakuren’s voice came out worried. Ichirin was leading her to the front of the shrine.

“The jizou statue!” Ichirin called back, she released Byakuren’s hand to shove the front doors open, the movement slowed her down just for a brief moment, then she was rapidly picking up speed again, sprinting towards the front steps.

Byakuren followed her equally as fast, slick mud soaked through her socks as her feet carried her forward.

Just up ahead Byakuren could see smoke in the direction they were heading.

Sure enough, a moment later flames came into view.

The jizou statue was completely engulfed in flames, its shawl was charred black and barely hanging on, the moss at it’s base was completely gone.

Standing just a few feet away from it was Murasa, who was frantically trying to extinguish it with her ladle. She glanced over, and relief flashed across her face when she saw Ichirin and Byakuren heading in her direction.

Ichirin and Byakuren hurried down the steps to meet her.

The jizou statue was hissing angrily at the rain, enormous clouds of smoke and steam poured from it.

Murasa tried spraying it again with her ladle, but the flames just roared in intensity and licked angrily at the water, a white steam erupted from where the water had hit.

The smoke stung at their eyes, Ichirin had to cover hers and look away as they teared up in a burning mess.

“Lightning?!” Byakuren called over the chaos.

“I don’t know!” Murasa hollered back, “I saw smoke and it was already on fire when I got here! It just won’t go out!”

Ichirin looked up, with watery eyes at the blaze and called, “We need to smother it!”

Byakuren hurriedly reached in her top and pulled out a spellcard. She used it, a moment later, a large purple tinted transparent bubble encircled the entirety of the jizou statue. Rain pattered against the top of the bubble and rolled off of it.

The three standing around the statue panted.

“We’ll just wait till it uses up all the oxygen.” Byakuren said. Both Ichirin and Murasa didn’t respond, they only stared and watched the statue as it continued to blacken in the flames.

A few long moments later, the fire weakened and flickered, then a second after that went out completely. Black smoke filled the bubble opaque.

They all let out a collective sigh. Byakuren let the bubble fall, and the smoke pooled out.

The group watched as it spiraled up against the rain in thick heavy clouds.

The rain was coming down harder now, it steadily increased into a downpour. The steaming mess of the statue continued to hiss angrily, but any embers that lived on were drowned.

Byakuren, Ichirin, and Murasa headed up the stairs and reentered the temple in silence.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Once dried, Byakuren, Murasa, Ichirin, and Kyouko made their way to the sitting room, and seated themselves on white zabuton cushions at a low oak table. The room was lit in a pale light cast in from the dreary outside. Rain pattered against a long window on the far wall, occasionally a low rumble of thunder would drift in, but it seemed that the worst part of the storm had passed.

Ichirin had made tea, but no one had touched it, save for Kyouko who had downed hers immediately.

Byakuren looked around the group gathered and sighed. This apparently broke the silence, as Murasa spoke up.

“I don’t think lightning started that.” She said in a low voice. She took her cup and took her first sip.

The rest of the group nodded. Kyouko got to her feet and made her way to the window to peer out. Byakuren watched her do this, but did not say anything, neither did Ichirin nor Murasa.

Unzan floated into the room, and hovered over to Ichirin. She greeted him with a silent grin, then turned back to the group.

“I think the statue was coated in something flammable.” Ichirin said. “The stone itself looked like it was on fire.”

Murasa grunted in agreement.

“And whenever I sprayed it, it just sputtered and grew.” She said, and took another drink.

The group fell into a silent agreement for a moment.

“I don’t want to point any fingers,” began Byakuren, “but we do know of someone who has done this kind of thing in the past…”

“Seiga.” Kyouko said, still standing at the window.

“Hm? No, I was talking about Mononobe.” Byakuren said, looking over at Kyouko.

The girl shook her head.

“No. Seiga.” She pointed out the window.

Murasa sprang to her feet and ran over to the window.

“Sonofabitch!” She grunted. “Oh, uh, sorry.” She glanced back over her shoulder at Byakuren.

Byakuren had gotten to her feet too. She moved over next to them, and looked out the window.

The window was slightly fogged, outside the rain had lightened up quite a bit, but was still coming down. Off in the distance, heading down the front steps away from the temple, was a woman dressed in blue.

She had a white umbrella, that was obscuring her face, but wrapped around her waist was the air light blue cloth Seiga Kaku seemingly always had around her.

Murasa cursed again, then apologized for cursing again.

“She’s got a lot of nerve...” She slammed her fist on the wall.

Byakuren placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Relax. I’ll go speak with her.”

She turned and made her way out of the sitting room. Murasa seemed alarmed by this.

“Talk to her!?” She said, anger in her voice that wasn’t directed at Byakuren. She trotted after her.

“Yes, we need to get to the bottom of this mess.” Byakuren said, with patience in her voice that was very much directed at Murasa.

Murasa grunted.

“Can’t we just-!”

“We need to get to the bottom of this mess peacefully.” Byakuren corrected herself. “Dear, I understand you’re upset, but if we just talk to the Taoists-”

“What about the Taoists?” Shou appeared, shoulders and hair slightly damp with rain. Nazrin followed right behind her, sporting a little more dampness than her master. Her and Nazrin had been in town offering food to the hungry as someone from the temple always did.  Luckily, it seemed like they had brought an umbrella, although with Nazrin looking a little more disheveled, Shou had evidently still not mastered the technique of keeping two people dry under one umbrella.

“They set the jizou statue on fire!” Murasa growled. Ichirn and Kyouko appeared behind her.

“We believe they might have had something to do with it, but we’re not sure.” Byakuren said.

“So that’s what happened to it?” Shou said quietly, she looked down to the floor in thought. “Wait, we just saw Lady Seiga passing down the steps! She even greeted us.”

“Had that smirk on her lips like always.” Nazrin added from her side.

Murasa made another noise that sounded very much like a growl.

“That woman… I swear, when I see her, I’ll-!”

“Murasa.” Byakuren began, “I will go alone to speak with them.”

“What!” Murasa took a big step ahead of her. “No! That’s like walking into a hives nest!”

Byakuren put her hand up to silence her. “Minamitsu,” She said firmly. Murasa blushed a little at her first name. “I’ll be alright. Bringing the entire temple could, well, give off the wrong message.”

“I’ll give ‘em a message.” Murasa grumbled. Byakuren sighed and moved around her.

“Hopefully, I won’t be long.” Byakuren said. As she passed by Shou and Nazrin, she put a hand on Shou’s shoulder for a moment. “You two go dry off.” She said, and then exited towards the front door.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Byakuren made her way down the slick front steps. She had tugged on her usual boots and collected an umbrella on the way out.

Aside from her heels clacking on the stone steps, the falling rain was the only sound around her.

As she passed the still smoldering jizou statue the scent of smoke filled her lungs. She glanced over at it and couldn’t help but frown. It still stood against the wind, but now looked about ready to crumble. It was charred black. Its usual comforting relaxed face now seemed slightly eerie. She looked away from it and continued down the steps.

Mononobe no Futo had a history of doing things like this. In the past, they had nearly burned down the right wing of the temple, before that, they had eviscerated one of the small shrines down along the road, then burned it to the ground. Before even that, there were rumors that they had successfully managed to burn down dozens of Buddhist temples

However in the recent past months, Futo had either lost interest or been forbidden to continue torching the Myouren Temple by their prince, Toyosatomimi no Miko, who, although known to have distaste for the Myouren Temple, wasn’t nearly as impulsive as Futo.

Byakuren came to the bottom of the stairs and looked around. She had been hoping to come across Seiga sooner rather than later. If she was able to catch up to Seiga in time, she wouldn’t have to make her way all the way down to the Taoist’s Mausoleum. But, it seemed like she had gotten a good head start on her. She was nowhere in sight.

Rain pattered against her umbrella as she scanned the landscape in front of her. It had cooled down a decent amount, and chilled air brushed against her. A light fog hung low to the ground, she couldn’t see very far ahead of her. She would just have to continue on.

And so she did.

Byakuren walked down along the dirt road that led to the temple. Her boots no longer clacked, now only made sloshing noises as they sank into the mud a little with each step.

On each side of her, just at the edges of the forest, were small shrines. There were offerings of foods and drinks on many. A faint wind of incense wafted in. Byakuren suspected Shou had litten a few burners on her way back.  

Byakuren continued on further until the shrines became more scarce. There was a beat of silence. Byakuren stopped and listened.

The rain had finally stopped. She smiled a little and moved her umbrella off of her shoulder to close it. Her eyes followed it as she reached up it’s handle to close it, but stopped halfway down. She had stopped right in front of a shrine, one of the last ones among the scarcity of them now. She looked over at it.

It was an older one, that hadn’t held up very well. It was nearly entirely covered in moss and vines that had long ago died. there was a chipped offering bowl at its base that had filled to the brim with rainwater. Her eyes traveled up along it. There was a stone Budai statue that was worn down a great deal by the weather. Its smiling face was wet from the rain. Most surprisingly, its forehead was chipped. The majority of the forehead was gone, save for right at its temples on each side part of its forehead still hung on. These two remaining pieces almost looked like small horns.

Byakuren hesitated, not sure what to make of it, and realized her umbrella was only halfway closed. She looked down at it, and pulled it shut. Then, she made her way over to the Budai statue, clapped, and bowed her head in a prayer.

She thanked it and promised to help restore it in the near future.

Then her mind wandered a bit. She thought back to Nue, and wondered, as she had done before, if she was safe and dry.

She asked for protection over those she called her children, and raised her head.

The Budai statue just stared back at her, still smiling. She smiled back and bowed, before continuing on.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Before long, Byakuren found herself traveling down the underground tunnel that lead to the Taoist’s Mausoleum. It was dark as always, her eyes needed a minute to adjust. Luckily, though, the path was mostly straight and not very tricky.

It was quiet. It had been quiet ever since the rain stopped. Byakuren could hear her breathing. Every few minutes a drip of water would fall from the cave ceiling and splash down. Occasionally one would land on the back of her neck and she would tense.

From behind her, she heard movement, or at least she thought she did. She continued on, but there it was again. She stopped and looked behind her. There was a silhouette a few hundred feet behind her, limping along towards her. She squinted her eyes could make out blue hair.

“Hello?”

“The monk!” The voice called back. “The monk!” It said again.

Byakuren recognized this voice as Yoshika Miyako’s.

“Oh, hello there!” Byakuren called back. She waited for Yoshika to approach, which actually took quite a bit.

“The monk!” Yoshika said again, this time much closer. She was a few feet in front of her now. Yoshika’s face sagged lazily, but her eyes looked up at Byakuren with excitement. “The monk! My master, she’s so…” Yoshika limped closer, “She’s so mad at the monk. My master’s prince… is so mad at the monk!”

Byakuren blinked.

“Oh?”

“They’re all mad at the monk. Did the monk come to be yelled at?”

“No, dear.” Byakuren frowned. Yoshika looked surprised by this.

“No?” She tilted her head to an uncomfortable angle.

“No, I’ve come to talk to Mononobe, or perhaps Toyosatomimi.”

“Oh.” Yoshika blinked. She stood there like that for a few long moments, then stiffly turned on her heels and hobbled away. Byakuren stared after her, but decided not to say anything.

Instead, she continued on, the Mausoleum shouldn’t be very far ahead.

And indeed, it wasn’t. Soon, Byakuren could see the large building emerging out of the shadows.

She was alarmed to see that the Mausoleum was in ruins. A very sizable chunk of the rock ceiling seemed to have fallen onto it. The roof was almost entirely caved in. In the surrounding area, fallen pillars rested on the cave floor. In front of it, next to a pillar was Soga no Tojiko. She was bent over said pillar and looked to be examining a large crack that ran down the entirety of it.

She glanced  up when Byakuren got closer and gave her a very dirty look. Byakuren blinked at her.

“Hel-” Byakuren began, But Tojiko had stood up straight and turned her back to Byakuren. She headed back towards what was left of the front door. Byakuren hurried after her. “Miss Tojiko!”

Tojiko didn’t respond. She kept her back to Byakuren and disappeared inside before Byakuren could catch up. Tojiko slammed what was left of the door in Byakuren’s face. A good chunk of it crumbled to the ground.

Byakuren stood at the doorway. She tucked the umbrella under her arm, and wrung her hands together.

“Um, hello?” She called in, her voice echoed off the cave walls. “What happened down here?”

There was a bark of a laugh from somewhere inside. A moment later, Miko appeared in the broken doorway, looking very stern. The prince’s eyes were heavy lidded and darkened an apparent lack of sleep.

The door opened. Miko stood with folded arms in front of Byakuren, lips tight.

“Toyosatomimi-” Byakuren began, but was cut off.

“No, I speak first.” Miko’s eyes narrowed. “So, you decided to come back to see how this all played out, eh?”

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t play dumb.” Miko’s foot tapped.

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about.” Byakuren frowned.

“If you’re going to lie to my face, I’m going to slam this door in yours.”

“Excuse me?” Byakuren said again. “Is this about whatever happened down here?”

Miko’s face darkened.

“I said don’t play dumb.”

“I’m an honest woman! I’m-”

Miko laughed, from somewhere inside, Tojiko laughed along.

“You’re going to have to pay for all of this. I hope you’ve saved up all the donations you’ve been getting.” Miko said, still chuckling a little.

“Toyosatomimi, my temple would be happy to help, but if you’re implying that we are somehow responsible for all of this.”

“I’m not implying anything. I’m telling you flat out that we know you’re responsible.”

“Excuse me?” Byakuren’s brow furrowed.

“We have a witness.” Miko motioned over Byakuren’s shoulder. Byakuren turned and jumped when she saw Yoshika had managed to sneak up two feet behind her.

“The monk lied! The monk really did come here to be yelled at!” Yoshika grinned.

“Yoshika saw one of your lackeys running away right after the explosion that caused all of this. Didn’t you Yoshika?”

Yoshika hesitated for a moment, eyes wide with thought. Then nodded, her neck snapping a little with each little bob.

“Oooh, yeah, I remember. That one.”

“So an earthquake didn’t cause all this?” Byakuren looked around at the rubble surrounding her.”

“No it was that one.” Yoshika nodded again. “There was the boom, then the ceiling fell, then that one ran.”

“Who was this?” Byakuren asked.

“Uh…” Yoshika thought again. “That one.”

“What did she look like?” Byakuren asked again.

“Uh.. had hair that was black and... Uh…. I think a mouth. Oh, and red..” Yoshika made a motion that was apparently supposed to symbolize the color red.

“Yoshika, tell her what else you told me.” Miko spoke up.

“Oh.. uh.. your shirt is buttoned up wrong.” Yoshika grinned.

“No, no, what the person who was running told you.” Miko said.

“Oooooh… Oh, I stopped that one. That one was running, and I couldn’t get outta the way fast enough. I said, ‘who are you?’ and that one said, ‘I’m a Buddhist from the Myouren Temple.’ and that one is a Buddhist from the Myouren Temple.” Yoshika grinned some more.

Miko nodded, hair bobbing. Byakuren frowned some more.

“Yoshika, you must remember what Murasa and Nue looked like, yes? Can you tell me if this person you’re talking about was either of them? These two are the only black haired people in my temple that this could be.” Byakuren asked.

Yoshika’s mouth lazed open. She glanced up at the jagged ceiling.

“Uhhh… Who?”

“Murasa, she has black hair, usually wears a lot of white. Although, I’m all but certain she isn’t behind this… I woke up before her and saw her come out of her room… Um, whenever you see her you call her a pirate.”

Miko snorted.

“Uhh....” Yoshika brought her eyes down to rest on Byakuren. Byakuren could see they were slightly milky. “I dunno.”

“Then, do you remember Nue?” Byakuren glanced down. It had been a few days since she last saw Nue, and in the past she did have quite the violent streak. “She has black hair, and wings. She’s best friends with Miss Mamizou who’s always so nice to you. Do you remember that time Mamizou gave you the other half of her popsicle? They’re always together.”

“Waiitt.. tīng bù dǒng..” One of Yoshika’s eyes lazed a bit to the right. “The monk said there were only two who looked like that one… But the monk just said more than two names…”

“Ah.. Don’t confuse her.” Miko said Byakuren nodded.

“If you came face to face with them do you think you could tell me if either of them was the one that caused all of this?” Byakuren asked.

“Mm, yeah…” Yoshika nodded, her hat bobbed dangerously on her head as if it were about to topple off.  

“Well then,” Byakuren turned back to Miko. “I’ll go and fetch Murasa and Nue to get this thing cleared up. Would that be alright?”

Miko thought for a moment, eyes firmly set on Byakuren.

“Alright.” The prince shrugged. Byakuren gave a small smile.

“If either of them really is responsible for all of this… I apologize in advance.”

“I’m sure you do.” Miko waved a hand, and began turning back away from Byakuren.

“But, there also is the matter of why I came down here in the first place.”

“Ah?” Miko stopped and blinked.

“I have suspicions that your Mononobe committed an act of arson today. The temple’s jizou statue was severely damaged.”

Miko made a face, then motioned at Yoshika to come inside.

“Let’s just settle one thing at a time.” Miko said. Yoshika hobbled in the door. Miko shut it in Byakuren’s face, and disappeared inside the Mausoleum.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Byakuren found herself heading towards the Kappa Village.

She had stopped back at the temple to ask Mamizou if she knew where Nue was, and was pointed in this direction.

Apparently the kappa were throwing some kind of festival to celebrate the end of harvest season, and this had piqued Nue’s interest enough to bring her to it.

The path was steep and curving. Up ahead, Byakuren could see Youkai Mountain looming. The sun had finally fought off some of the storm clouds, and was pooling down in patches created by the remaining that were still heavily hanging in the sky.

Just up ahead was a fork in the road. Byakuren frowned at it.

She had never exactly been to the Kappa’s village. She had a general understanding on where it should be, but aside from that was more or less winging it.

The path to the right lead, well, right. There was nothing all that different about it than the path that she was already on. There were a few trees on either side, but for the most part was clear. In the distance, Byakuren could see a few bamboo stalks that were the beginning of the Bamboo Forest of Eientei.

The path to the left seemed to lead along the way to the Forest of Magic, and somewhere beyond that to Youkai mountain.

Just up ahead on the left path, Byakuren could see a small building with knick-knacks and furniture dotting its front yard. She knew this to be Kourindou. Inside Kourindou would undoubtedly be Rinnosuke. He should know these parts fairly well, well enough to point in the direction of the Kappa Village.

Byakuren headed left down the path, and towards it.

As she approached, she observed the furniture in the yard with curiosity. Some of it was definitely from the outside world. She wondered how he came into possession of it. There were a few recognizable objects like couches and tables, but here and there there were also objects she had no idea even existed. To her right she saw a shiny object on wheels. It had a long handle and was evidently supposed to be pushed for one reason or the other. It had a large rectangular spout type thing, no, was that a chimney or some sorts, and it looked to have a motor of some kind, and had foreign writing on the front that was chipped off beyond legible.

She eyed it curiously as she passed, trying to make out what that writing said. She did not know much of the roman alphabet, but knew a bit. Was that an A, no, an H…

“Heya, Hijiri!” A voice just to her left called.

Byakuren squawked and jumped. She turned to see Marisa Kirisame just beside her. The witch had apparently been crouching down to examine a rug that was thrown out onto the lawn. She stood up straight and patted herself off.

“Dear, you startled me.” Byakuren sighed and put a hand on her chest. Marisa laughed.

“Sorry, oh, you lookin’ at that over there?” Marisa pointed over to the object Byakuren had indeed been lookin’ at.

“Just curious.” She said.

“Ah, don’t bother. S’broke, I think.” Marisa shrugged. Her hat tilted a bit with the motion, she moved a hand up to fix it. Byakuren saw her fingers were bandaged almost entirely. “I mean, I getcha, all those steps must be a pain to shovel, but that thing’s missing a fourth of its motor, I think.” She put her bandaged hand on her hip. “Nah, probably like, a half of it missing. It wouldn’t run.”

“Your hand, are you ok?” Byakuren asked. She knew a few weeks ago she had gotten into a scuffle with Nazrin, and had broken two of her fingers trying to swing at her, Nazrin had sidestepped the fist, and Marisa toppled onto the ground. Byakuren had insisted on bandaging her up then, against Marisa’s protests. By now, her hand should have healed, she hoped it wasn’t something more serious.

“Oh, this?” Marisa glanced down to examine her hand. “Oh, no, don’t worry, those fingers healed up just fine. This is from bites.”

“Oh dear. Bites?” Byakuren frowned.

“Yeah, I’ve been workin on a new potion with rabbits, ya know. Most of ‘em don’t take kindly to having their fur pulled out.” She threw her head back and cackled. Her hat toppled off. She noticed and collected it from the ground, still laughing.

“Oh dear…” Byakuren said again.

“You picking on my customers?” Came a new voice. She looked over to see Rinnosuke coming down from Kourindou’s front doors. He was frowning at Marisa, and was moving forward in large strides. He met eyes with Byakuren and immediately gave her a polite smile. Byakuren smiled back.

“Hello, Miss Hijiri. I didn’t expect to see you here.” He bowed when he was within a few feet of her. Byakuren returned the gesture.

“Hello, Rinnosuke.”

“This one isn’t bothering you over here, is she?” Rinnosuke shoved a thumb in Marisa’s direction.

“Oh no.” Byakuren shook her head and looked over at Marisa. She had crouched back down to continue looking at the rug, but looked up with a wide toothy grin.

“Aw, you really are a saint.” She chuckled.

“Need help with anything?” Rinnosuke directed his question at Byakuren, but his glare at Marisa.

“Actually, I was going to ask you for directions. I’m headed to the Kappa Village, and-” Byakuren began.

“Ah,” Marisa snorted. “You lookin’ for a party?” Marisa gave Byakuren a sly wink. “Maybe I was wrong about the whole saint thing. You dog, I hear that place is really going hard.”

“Marisa, what did I tell you about calling my customers dogs?” Rinnosuke asked flatly.

“Ain’t ya listenin’? She said she was just here for directions! She ain’t a customer.”

“What did I tell you about being a smartass, then?” Rinnosuke put his hands on his hips.

“Aw, you’re just still mad your date with _that handsome blacksmith, Bunta_ , didn’t go well last night.” Marisa let out a bark of a laugh. Rinnosuke looked as if he was debating kicking her.

“Ah, um…” Byakuren spoke up.

“Oh, sorry.” Rinnosuke looked back up at her and fixed his glasses. “The Kappa Village, well, let’s see. If you keep heading down this path and cut through the Forest of Magic, you should come to a road that kind of juts off to the east. If you follow along the part that breaks off it should take you around the base of Youkai Mountain. When you come to the stream, follow it to the north until it turns west, then head down the footpath and it’ll lead you right into the village. Uh, you’ll probably be able to hear the festival from pretty far away.”

“She ain’t gonna remember all that.” Marisa called, somewhat distractedly. She had turned over the rug in her hands and was examining the bottom of it. “Write it down, why dontcha?”

“Ah, fine. Follow me, Miss Hijiri.” He turned and headed back inside. Byakuren followed after him.

He lead in through the front doors. The inside was dusty and cluttered. Miscellaneous objects were shoved precariously against every wall.

He made his way behind a wooden counter and started shuffling through the mountain of papers piled on top of it, apparently looking for a piece blank enough for him to write on. Most of the papers were just old newspapers, some were made of a slightly thicker material and looked somewhat more official. Rinnosuke tossed a good few dozen out of the way, they fluttered to the wooden floor, brushing against each other with a dull scraping noise.

“Here.” Rinnosuke said as he slapped down the back of a blank envelope onto what flat space of the counter he had available. He pulled a pen out of his back pocket and started scribbling on it, but let out an aggravated grunt. Byakuren looked down to see that the pen wasn’t writing. “Out of ink. Just my luck. One minute.” He said, and made his way out from behind the counter. He disappeared down a hallway, and Byakuren heard his footsteps travel up a stairway she couldn’t see from where she was standing.

Byakuren stood where she was in silence. She looked around her.

It really was dusty. She sniffled a bit, and tried not to sneeze.

But to no avail, she squeezed her eyes shut, craned her neck down into her elbow and sneezed.

When she reopened her eyes, they fell onto a newspaper laid across the counter. It was from last week. On the very front page there was a picture of a girl looking very surprised her photo was being taken. Her eyes were sharp and wide, her mouth was open slightly in what looked like either a gasp or scream. Her hand was reaching forward, apparently trying to shove the camera away from her. Byakuren’s eyes traced their way up along her face, peeking out of her black and, what other color was that in her hair? Byakuren couldn’t say; the picture was in black and white, were a small pair of horns. Above the picture was a very large title reading: _Gensokyo’s Most Wanted: Seija Kijin_. Below the picture was a small description: _Wanted thief, considered armed and dangerous. Do not approach unless you feel like approaching. I’m not in charge of your decisions. Height: 4’1_ \- Rinnosuke had returned and placed the envelope directly over the end of that sentence.

“Sorry about that.” Rinnosuke said, he had begun to write. This time, the pen actually worked.

“No worries. Thank you for helping me.”

“No worries here either.” Rinnosuke said, a smile spread across his face. He fell silent as he finished writing down the directions. When he finished, he looked up and handed the envelope to Byakuren. “There ya go. Don’t get lost now, ok?” He smiled. Byakuren smiled back.

“I won’t.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

The Kappa Village wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to find. But, Marisa had been right about three things. One, that it would be a good idea for Rinnosuke to write down the directions, she wouldn’t have found it without them. Two, that she would be able to hear the festival from some distance away. A loud pounding beat carried over to her, whoever was performing was apparently really passionate about it. Either that, or was trying to hammer through the drums’ skins.  

Byakuren entered the village and found, three, they were going very hard.

The music was loud even from out in the forest, but here it was ground shaking. Byakuren had to resist plugging her ears.

Everywhere around her kappas and others alike were bouncing to the music, or at least bobbing their heads. A small group of kappa ran past Byakuren shouting and cheering. Byakuren watched as they passed, one had very long navy hair that swayed as she ran. She ran straight into one of the ponds dotting the town, and disappeared into its murky depths, only to pop out a few moments later with another kappa. This one had short white hair. They linked arms and disappeared into a crowd that was forming just up ahead.

Byakuren had to squeeze past this crowd as she moved into the town. She found that it was fairly easy to tell kappa and other species apart. The kappas rarely broke 4’5, and when they did, she suspected their thick boots added an extra inch or two. Byakuren herself practically towered over the rest of the crowd.

Here and there she would spot a tengu or two, or even, oh, that was that nice girl from up on the mountain, but aside from that it was an ocean of kappa.

Byakuren continued on what she assumed was the main road, judging by the amount of traffic.

She rounded a corner and saw a makeshift stage just up ahead. On it were three women she did not recognize. The one responsible for all this noise was a redheaded woman in white, beating the life out of several taiko drums surrounding her. To her right was a pair of much quieter girls, one with lavender hair and the other with brown hair. They both appeared to be playing some type of stringed instruments, or at least she assumed they both were, she couldn’t see anything in the brunette's hands, aside from glowing strings.

There was a sizable gap between the crowd and the stage, it seemed getting that close was too loud, even for them.

Byakuren scanned the crowd, and just a few hundred feet away she spotted the familiar sight of Nue’s unique wings. She struggled through the crowd to make her way over to her. It was rough, but she managed to get over with enough excuse me’s and sorry’s.

Nue was dancing with a very pretty kappa.  And dancing very closely at that. The kappa had straight black hair and very bright green eyes. She had on a white dress with knee-high brown laced up boots.The kappa had her back to Nue, and Nue had her arms around the small girl’s waist. Byakuren blushed a bit at the sight.

When Byakuren approached, Nue had her eyes shut, she was resting her chin on top of the kappas head, and, oh, Byakuren would’ve scolded her ear off if she was under her teachings for doing that. The kappa eyed her curiously, Byakuren could see why Nue had taken interest in her, those lashes were very hypnotising.

“Hm?” The kappa called over the noise, not an easy feat.

“Sorry, excuse me. Can I talk to Nue?” Byakuren called back. Nue’s eyes shot open at Byakuren’s voice. She looked at her curiously.

“Oh, hey, what’re you doing here?” Nue blinked and looked around. “Wait, what really, what are you doing here?”

“I needed to talk to you.” Byakuren’s voice was already starting to hurt from speaking so loudly. Someone behind her bumped into her and nudged her forward. “Omph,” She she stumbled a bit.

“Uh…” Nue moved her hands on to the kappa’s shoulders. “Sorry, Midori. Uh, next song?”

The kappa didn’t look mad, just confused.

“Sure.” She shrugged and moved away from Nue. Nue took a step forward and put her hands on Byakuren’s shoulders. Byakuren blinked down at her. Nue started to sway a bit with the beat, oblivious. “You know, you’re the last person I’d expect to see here.”

“Oh, uh…” Byakuren rested her hands just under Nue’s arms, on her slim frame. “I know, sorry to cut in.”

“Nah, don’t be. So, what’s this about?” The song faded out and her ears rang with the quiet.

“Nue, I need to ask you something. I need you to look me in the eyes and answer me honestly.”

“Eh?” Nue moved to some nonexistent rhythm. “Sure.”

“Did you cause a cave in that damaged the Taoist’s Mausoleum?”

“What?” Nue raised an eyebrow. “No.”

“You swear?”

“Yeah, I said I wouldn’t lie, didn’t I?”

“Mm.. Ok, so another question. Would you accompany me back to the Mausoleum and tell the Taoists that, and have them just see your face and identify that you are not the one who did it?” Byakuren raised her voice as another song started, equally as loud.

Nue rolled her eyes and groaned.

“Ughh…” she let her head tilt a bit to the side. “Sure, sure.”

“I’m sorry, my child.” Byakuren tried to frown, but Nue stuck out her tongue. She couldn’t stifle a giggle.

“It’s fine.” Nue couldn’t help but giggle along.

“She was very pretty.” Byakuren said, glancing over at the kappa Nue had been dancing with. “I’m sorry to take you away from her.”

“Yeah, she’s cute. But, ya know, I came here hoping to find a siren.”

“What?” Byakuren chuckled some more, “Where did that come from?”

“Oh, Mamizou mentioned how she went home with one a few weeks ago-” Nue furrowed her brows and shut her mouth. “Uh, it’s weird talking to you about that kind of stuff. Let’s say I was in it for the-”

“I understand, Nue.” Byakuren sighed and shook her head. Nue cackled.

“Don’t sound so disappointed in me!”

“No, I, well, you’re right this is strange talking about. You’re my child after all.” She shook her head again. Nue took her hands off of Byakuren’s shoulders, in response Byakuren removed her hands from Nue’s frame.

“Hey, don’t say that in public.” Nue turned away a bit and laughed. “I don’t want it getting out I live with my mom!” She said in a teasing voice, though Byakuren knew she meant no harm. She started heading over to the kappa she was dancing with. “Let me just, well, wait here.”

Byakuren did as she was told and watched as Nue headed away. She saw Nue bend down and kiss the kappa, and, oh, Byakuren turned away.

A few moments later, Nue came back, her hair was a little messed up, and was now sporting some lipgloss on her mouth, and cheek, and neck, and Byakuren didn’t look lower out of embarrassment. They began squeezing out of the crowd.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHRIS************** holy fuck


	2. Part 2

On the way back to the Mausoleum, Byakuren and Nue collected Murasa, who seemed all too eager to give the Taoist’s a piece of her mind despite Byakuren’s pleas to stay calm.

The three made their way down the front steps. The clouds had smothered out the sun again, but were tinted orange, indicating that the sun had begun to set.

Byakuren noted that the jizou statue had stopped smoldering, but still reeked heavily of smoke. She frowned at it. Murasa noticed this and patted her arm.

“Hey, don’t worry. They’ll get what’s coming to them.” Murasa said. She nodded and folded her arms.

“Murasa…” Byakuren frowned.

“Oh, uh,” She scratched her chin. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Makes the world go blind and all that.”

Byakuren looked at her, but said nothing. Murasa babbled on but didn’t look at her.

They reached the bottom of the stairway and headed along the path to the underground tunnel.

The ground was still muddy, it sloshed under their steps the entire way.

The trip was mostly quiet, aside from Murasa going on about how personally wronged she felt, then immediately going back and apologizing for her brash comments.

They came to the underground tunnel and entered it.

A few hundred yards inside, they heard a rumble of thunder from the outside world behind them. Byakuren still had her umbrella tucked under her arm, but it would just be big enough for two people. The walk home would be an uncomfortable one.

As they traveled down to the Mausoleum Murasa fell quiet.

The Mausoleum came into view and both Murasa and Nue made alarmed noises.

“It really is trashed.” Murasa observed.

“Oh, wow..” Nue looked up at the cave ceiling. It had a very large scar where apparently the rock now residing on the Taoists’ home previously hung.

The fallen pillars had not moved since Byakuren’s last visit, but some of the debris surrounding them did. To the right of the Mausoleum a large pile of stones had been collected, Byakuren assumed that’s where all the rubble would be placed for now.

They made their way up to what was left of the front door and knocked. Inside was dark, but from somewhere deep in the Mausoleum there were voices.

“Hello?” Byakuren called. The voices stopped. After a few moments, approaching footsteps could be heard.

Seiga appeared in the doorway dressed in a long navy ruqun. Her familiar blue sash was tied tightly under her chest. She narrowed her eyes and gave the party on her doorstep a cold look.

Before anyone could speak, Miko appeared behind her. Seiga leaned on the doorframe so she wasn’t obscuring the prince. The frame made a dangerous cracking noise, but Seiga didn’t react.

“So you’re back.” Miko said, looking more bored than anything.

“Of course.” Byakuren said. “I retrieved Murasa and Nue as I said I would.”

Miko glanced over Murasa, then Nue before turning to Seiga.

“Please get your Jiang Shi.”

“Mmm…” Seiga nodded and stood up straight, she disappeared inside only to return a few moments later with Yoshika.

“Yoshika, sweetie,” Seiga rested her hands on Yoshika’s shoulders and leaned forward over her shoulder a bit. “You’re going to tell us if either is the one, ok?”

Yoshika grinned widely and looked over her shoulder at Seiga.

“Yeah, huh…” Her milky eyes smiled at her master.

“Go ahead, sweetie.” Seiga rested the side of her head lightly against Yoshika’s. Yoshika grinned more and turned back to face the Buddhists.

“Uhh….” Her eyes looked Murasa up and down. “Oh, the pirate.”

Murasa growled.

“Was the pirate the person you saw?” Seiga asked, fingers digging into Yoshika’s shoulders a bit.

“Nuh, uh…” Yoshika’s eyes moved over to Byakuren. “Oh, the monk.”

“Yes, sweetie, we know. Look at the other one.”

“Oh, the pirate!”

“No, the other one.”

“Ooohh….” Yoshika looked over at Nue. Nue frowned back. “Oh, uh… no, it was the other one.”

“Which one, sweetie?”

“The other one.”

“Shéi?” Seiga moved her hands to Yoshika’s upper arms.

“The other one.”

“Yoshika, you see these two women with black hair?”

“Yeah.”

“Were either of these two women the one you saw running away? The one that told you she was under Hijiri’s teachings?”

“Oh, uh, no.”

The entire group sighed.

“Xièxie, háizi.” Seiga let her hands drop off of Yoshika’s arms.

“Bú kèqì!” Yoshika beamed.

Murasa folder her hands and puffed out her chest. A smug smirk spread across Nue’s lips.

Miko frowned and looked at Byakuren.

“Well, I guess there really has been a misunderstanding…” Miko said.  
“It does seem like it.” Byakuren brought her hands together.

“You owe us an apology.” Nue said flatly. Seiga made a noise of protest, but Miko raised a hand to stop her.

“I do. I’m sorry.”

“And you need to tell your little totey of yours to stop trying to burn down our temple!” Nue said, and put her hands on her hips.

“I will address this too, yes.” Miko sighed.

“Hmm…” Byakuren glanced over at Yoshika. “But there is still the issue of who did this to your Mausoleum in the first place. And who did such a thing and then claimed to be under my teachings.”

“Coulda been anyone.” Murasa said.

“Yes, but it’s troublesome… I believe that whoever was the cause of all of this may have lied and pitted us against each other… Knowing that, well, we haven’t exactly gotten along well in the past.”

“Or they could have seen the opportunity to start more chaos and taken it.” Miko nodded.

“Yoshika,” Byakuren said, “Tell me again, what did the person who caused all this look like.”

“Uh…” Yoshika tilted her head. “I already told the monk… Black hair, uhhh, a mouth, and red.”

“Red what?” Nue asked.

“Red.” Yoshika made the same motion she did before, the one that was apparently supposed to symbolize the color red.

“What was red?” Miko asked.

“Oh… uh, apples are… and… my master’s lipstick… uh.... the sky sometimes-”

“No, what on the person you saw running. What was red on her?”

“Oh… uh.. inside that one was red, people are red inside, uh,  that one’s eyes were red, uh, that one’s hair was red…”

“Qǐng nǐ shuō màn yìdiǎn er.” Seiga put her hand back on Yoshika’s shoulder. “You’ve been telling us her hair was black.”

“Uh…. yeah….. black…. and…. red……”

Seiga sighed.

“You didn’t mention that before.”

“Yeah huh! I did!”

“She did, I think. We just didn’t pick up on it.” Miko sighed.

Miko looked over at Byakuren.

“Listen, sorry again for all this. I’ll make it up to you somehow-”

“Wait…” Byakuren’s brow furrowed. “Yoshika… Did this person have horns?”

“Oh… uh…” Yoshika stuck out her tongue as she thought. Everyone glanced over at Byakuren curiously. “Uh… what are those?”

Byakuren brought her hands up to her forehead and stuck her index fingers out. “Something like this.”

“Oh, uh, no, that one didn’t do that. There were things sticking out of that one’s head right there, so that one couldn’t put that one’s hands right there.”

“Things sticking out right there? That were small and white?” Byakuren asked.

“Yeah.” Yoshika blinked.

“Those are horns.”

“Uh, that one had horns then.”

“Oh, I believe I know who we’re talking about then.”

 

* * *

 

Byakuren found that the walk home was indeed uncomfortable. She had told Nue and Murasa to share the umbrella, while she herself faced the rain unshielded.

For the most part, it wasn’t unbearable. The rain was more or less a heavy mist with the occasional drizzle, but overhead the clouds rumbled ominously. Threatening with another approaching storm.

By now the sun was low in the sky. The sky to the east was already darkening. With the loss of sunlight, it was even cooler now than it had been before. Byakuren found herself shivering a little.

When they reached the steps of the shrine Byakuren stopped. Nue and Murasa looked at her confused.

“Aren’t you coming in?” Murasa asked.

“Actually, I think I need to check something.” Byakuren offered her a grin, but Murasa didn’t smile back.

Nue extend the umbrella to Byakuren.

“Well, if you’re going out, take this.” She said.

“Oh, not going back to the kappa village?” She said as she accepted it.

“Nah,” Nue waved it off, “I bet they got rained out, anyway. It’s not a huge loss.” She smiled. Byakuren smiled back

Up ahead, the front door of the temple opened, a dim light pooled out.

“Hey! You’re back!” Kyouko’s voice carried down. Murasa gave a big wave with her entire arm up at her.

“Hey there!” She called, grinning.

“Ichirin made dinner!” Kyouko called down. She cupped her hands over her mouth, although admittedly she didn’t need to.

“Great!” Murasa beamed, Ichirin’s cooking was always her favorite. She turned back to Byakuren. “Hey, take care of yourself ok? Don’t go getting sick.”

“You don’t need to worry.” Byakuren grinned and adjusted the umbrella a little. “Enjoy your dinner.”

“Will do! I’ll save a plate for you!” Murasa was already heading up the stairs. She waved again, this time to Byakuren.

“Thank you!” Byakuren called back.

Murasa put some distance between them, but Nue hadn’t moved. She turned to Byakuren.

“You’re going to try to find that person who was responsible, right? The one you said you saw in the newspaper.”

“Ah,” Byakuren nodded slowly. “I was hoping to get some information on her, yes.”

“Mm..” Nue frowned. Byakuren blinked. There was a long moment of silence. Rain pattered down on the umbrella. “Just keep yourself safe then.” Nue said finally.

Byakuren smiled again, but it wasn’t a true one.

“Of course.”

“Great. Hurry back. I don’t want you getting pneumonia.” Nue had turned her back to her and started heading up the stairs after Murasa.

“Of course.” Byakuren said again.

By now, Murasa had gotten to the top to meet Kyouko.

“I’ll keep it warm for you!” Kyouko’s voice called down to Byakuren. Byakuren chuckled and waved up at her.

“Thank you!”

 

* * *

 

Byakuren found herself heading back up Kourindou’s front lawn. It seemed Marisa was no longer here, she was not crouched over the rug she had evidently decided against buying, and Byakuren couldn’t see her anywhere else amongst the furniture.

By now, the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon.

It was definitely chilly now. Byakuren had lost most of the feeling in her hands. She gripped at the umbrella’s cold handle, and rubbed her fingers over her knuckles but that didn’t help much.

Although the umbrella kept most of the rain from hitting her, the wind was beginning to pick up again, and would blow gusts of droplets against her. Her hair was damp and knotted, it stuck against her forehead and cheeks.

With every breath, a small cloud would form in front of her face. The Aki sisters must have decided to really pack a punch this year. That, or they had given up completely to the winter.

Byakuren made her way up to the front door and knocked, her cold knuckles ached with the movement.

She heard noises coming from inside. After a few moments, Rinnosuke opened the door. He looked even more surprised to see her now than he had been earlier on in the day.

“Oh, Hijiri.” He blinked. His glasses started to fog up with the change in temperature. He cursed and wiped them off with the his sleeve.

“Hello, Rinnosuke. I’m sorry to bother you again…”

“What? Oh, no no. Don’t worry. How can I help you? Do you want to come in?”

“Thank you. Yes.” Byakuren could feel the warmth from the building in front of her, and longed to get out of the cold.

Rinnosuke stepped aside to let her enter. She closed her umbrella, shook it off, and tucked it under her arm before stepping inside.

Rinnosuke closed the door behind her.

“How can I help you?” Rinnosuke asked, “Oh no, were my directions bad? Were you not able to find the Kappa Village?”

“Oh no, don’t worry. I found it just fine.” Byakuren said. It felt heavenly to be inside. She rubbed her hands together, attempting to gain feeling back. “I was actually going to ask you, earlier today when I was in I saw you had an old newspaper from last week.”

“Oh, uh…” Rinnosuke bit his lip. “Newspaper? Was it on the counter?”

“It was. I’m looking for someone, and I saw her picture on the front page.”

“Ah, you’d better come with me.” Rinnosuke said quietly. He turned and started walking towards a doorway to his left.

Byakuren blinked and followed him quietly.

He slid open the door and stepped inside, Byakuren followed as well.

This room seemed to be dedicated to different types of chairs and pillows. They were cluttered up in the dozens all around the room. In a few places, the chairs were stacked on top of each other, and reached up towards the ceiling.

The ceiling itself, was leaking in quite a few places. Underneath a few of the leaks were buckets or bowls to catch the rainwater, but it seemed Rinnosuke had run out of things to collect it in, because the remainder of the leaks were dripping down onto piles of crumpled up soggy newspaper as a last resort.

Byakuren frowned at the sight.

“Oh dear…”

“It was all that damn rain…” he sighed and put his hands on his hips. “Most of the newspapers I had are all destroyed now. I mean, I’m sure a few survived, I could check if you’d like.”

“No, that’s ok…” Byakuren sighed.

The room went quiet.

The leaking ceiling dripped.

“Well, can I ask, who did you see on the cover?”

“I can’t remember her name… She was wanted for thievery, I think. She had black and red hair and horns, and-”

“Oh, OH!” Rinnosuke put his hand over his mouth, his glasses slid down his nose a little. “You’re talking about Kijin aren’t you?”

“Kijin.. Yes! That sounds familiar!” Byakuren nodded.

“Seija Kijin! Yeah! I remember, she got in big big trouble again for going around and stealing things. Word has it she even nabbed something from Yakumo.”

“Oh dear..” Byakuren frowned.

“But, listen! You know, there’s a huge bounty on her head, everyone’s been after her. So there’s always word where she was seen last. Mokou, do you know that white haired woman that’s got that thing for the teacher, well she was just in not too long ago. She told me she’d seen Kijin running into the bamboo forest!”

“Oh, really?” Byakuren’s eyes went wide. “How long ago?”

“Maybe forty minutes since she stopped in, she’d come straight from over there, it’s not a long walk.”

“Do you think I would be able to catch up to her?”

“Well, uh, she is a slippery one, they say they got most of the weapons she stole back, but she’s still a rough one to catch. But Mokou did say that she was limping real bad, like she was hurt.”

“Oh dear…” Byakuren said.

“So I think you might actually have a shot… Uh, are you looking to turn her in?”

“I was just looking to tell her to stop claiming to be under my teachings; she was really causing some trouble with that.”

“Ah, well, then you better go catch her quick, half of Gensokyo wants her head.”

Byakuren frowned.

“But, you said she was hurt…?”

“Yeah, Mokou said it looked like it.” Rinnosuke nodded.

“Do you… sell first aid kits here…?” Byakuren asked.

Rinnosuke blinked and hesitated.

“Uh, sure I do, nothing really fancy, but the basics are all there.”

“I have 20 mon on me.” Byakuren said, reaching into her blouse.

“It’ll be just 11 mon. I’ll go get it, you can head back into the front room.” Rinnosuke said, and disappeared down a hallway.

Byakuren headed back into the other room. She looked over at the counter Rinnosuke had been at when he had written down the directions. The mountain of newspapers really wasn’t there. She sighed.

Rinnosuke appeared after a minute, holding a white handled box.

“Here we go.” He said slowly. Byakuren handed him the 11 mon and took it.

“Thank you.” She said.

“Listen…” Rinnosuke began. “I get it, you’ve got the whole monk thing going on, but Seija Kijin really is dangerous. She won’t look kindly to being approached, and even less kindly to someone who’s coming at her with bandages.”

“I know how to defend myself. It can’t hurt to try.” Byakuren said.

Rinnosuke closed his hand around the mon and looked at the floor.

“I just want you to know, she’s an amanojaku. Don’t trust anything she says.”

“Ah… I’ll keep that in mind.” Byakuren took the umbrella out from under her arm and tucked the first aid kit in its place. “Thank you again, Rinnosuke.”

“Don’t mention it.”

 

* * *

 

Byakuren hurried along down the path to the bamboo forest. The rain had picked up again, she could see puddles on the path ahead of her growing at an alarming rate. She wondered if it would flood.

Just up ahead she could see the beginnings of the bamboo forest. It would start gradually at first, then become a labyrinth of bamboo. She had heard many stories of people getting lost in it. Almost all of them had been rescued by either a helpful rabbit or Mokou, and lead out, but it was still daunting. In many instances, it would take hours to be rescued the forest was so expansive.

Byakuren looked up at the looming bamboo. They swayed gently in the wind, rain trickled down their stalks.

Her gaze traveled higher, up to the clouds. A few patches of them flashed with lightning. Thunder rumbled from not too far away.

“Heya, Hijiri!” Called a voice from just behind her.

Byakuren squawked and swung around. Marisa was standing there, grinning ear to ear despite her cheeks and nose being slightly pink from the cold. Her usual witch’s hat was soaked almost entirely through. She had on a long gray coat that went down to her calfs. Below it, she had on a very muddy pair of boots.

“Dear! Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Sorry, sorry.” She waved it off. Byakuren saw she had on a pair of wool gloves. She gave Byakuren a wicked smirk. “What are you doing skulking around in the rain like this, huh?”

“I’m looking for someone.” Byakuren said. She adjusted her umbrella.

Marisa shrugged and nodded.

“Ain’t we all? Listen, Hijiri, if you’re lookin’ for love why don’t you start with that Taoist prince, eh? I mean, you two aren’t really that diff-”

“Marisa.” Byakuren gave her a weak smile. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Eh,” Marisa gave Byakuren an unreadable look. Marisa was at least a foot shorter than Byakuren. She rocked up onto her toes to get a better look at her, “Then what did you mean by it?”

“Someone has been claiming that they’re under my teachings and going around causing chaos. You must see how this is a problem.”

“Oh.” Marisa raised her eyebrows. She looked past Byakuren, into the bamboo. “So, you think whoever’s been usin’ your name has gone into there?”  
“Yes, I do.” Byakuren nodded.

“Ah…” Marisa’s wild grin returned. “Hijiri, you’re really lucky, do you know that?”

“Um…” Byakuren looked at Marisa curiously.

“Lucky that you bumped into me, because,” She reached into her coat and began fishing for something. “Bum da da dadada!” Marisa had apparently decided that this needed some type of dramatic music for a sound effect. “Bum bum dadadada!” She held out a small vial filled with a curious blue liquid. “Lucky indeed!” She held it between her thumb and index finger and brought it inches from Byakuren’s face. “Know what this is?”

“No, I don’t.” Byakuren said slowly, she leaned back a bit.

“This, my dear Hijiri, is my newest potion!”

“Oh…?”

“Remember how I said I was workin’ with those rabbits?”

“I do, yes.”

“Well,” Marisa pulled the vial back and held it up to her own face to examine it. “This, is the product of all that hard work. Know what it does?”

“I do not…” Byakuren realized that this conversation was going on for quite a while.

“It keeps ya from getting lost in there! It’s got essence of Eientei rabbit in it! Oh, oh, don’t worry, not any meat or anything. I know you’re a veg-head.”

“What are you getting at, Marisa?” Byakuren asked.

Marisa’s smirk widened.

“You’re gonna get lost in there, ya know? So, why not take something that’ll help with it. Come on, I need someone to test it on!”

“You haven’t even tested it yet?” Byakuren furrowed her brow. “Listen, I don’t think it’d be such a good idea to take something like that…”

“What, dontcha trust me?”

“We both know that’s a trick question, Marisa…”

Marisa cackled. Her laugh echoed off of the bamboo around her.

“Maybe so, but you and I both know you’re not gonna be able to navigate in that maze to save yourself, let alone find whoever you’re lookin’ for.” Marisa shrugged. The blue liquid in the vial splashed against one side of the glass.

“Marisa…”

“And you know, I’m givin’ it to you for free!” Marisa fluttered her eyelashes, “Outta the goodness of my heart. Ya just gotta tell me how it all works out.” She extended the bottle towards Byakuren again. Byakuren eyed it quietly.

Marisa’s eyes shot to the left. “Oh, there’s a rabbit right there.” She shoved the vial into Byakuren’s hands and crouched as if she were going to pounce on it.

“Marisa…”

“Shh!” Marisa hissed. She got down even lower and started inching closer to it. Byakuren watched her silently. She ran her thumb over the smooth glass in her hand, and glanced back into the bamboo.

It was dark, between the stalks of bamboo, the weightless shadows of the night hung down. It looked like fog was beginning to form again. Byakuren felt the vial in her hand again. Her thumb traveled up it and landed on the cork stopper in the top.

Suddenly, Marisa lunged forward after the rabbit. She landed on her stomach in the mud with a slap. The mud splashed up at Byakuren’s ankles. The rabbit dashed away uncaught.

“Aw, dammit!” Marisa got to her feet again, and dusted herself off as well as she could. Her entire front was soaking and filthy. She looked over at Byakuren. “First one I’ve seen all night, and it gets away.” She sighed. Byakuren sighed too, but for a different reason.

“Marisa.”

“Yeah?”

“Will this… Hurt me?” Byakuren asked.

“Huh? No, everything in there I’ve eaten myself. Ya know, a good part of it is some vegetable broth from a soup I had for dinner last week. Needed something to hold it all together.”

“Do you promise?” Byakuren eyed her. Marisa cackled.

“When have I been known to lie?” She grinned. Byakuren noticed she had some mud on her nose.

“I won’t answer that.” She looked down at the vial she had in her hand and popped the cork open.

Marisa’s eyes lit up with curiosity, she watched Byakuren.

Byakuren brought the vial to her lips and downed the liquid.

It was curiously thick and tasted like peppermint, didn’t Marisa just say that it was mostly broth? She blinked, she felt a little warm, but aside from that, nothing.

Marisa’s eyes went wide. She put her hands on her hips, and tilted her head.

“Oh.”

“Oh?” Byakuren looked over at her, worried. Her umbrella was nudged up by something. She turned to see if she’d brushed against any bamboo, but none was nearby. Most curiously, when she turned, she felt something brush against the top of her head. She reached up to feel what it was.

“Well, it’s cute. I’ll give it that.” Marisa grinned.

“What’s cu-” Byakuren felt something fuzzy, and something fuzzy felt her hand back. “Oh!?” She felt frantically above her. Marisa giggled.

She’d sprouted a particularly fuzzy pair of rabbit ears.

“Marisa-! I-”

“Relax,” Marisa waved it off, “The effects should only last a few hours.”

“And what if they don’t?” Byakuren pulled one of her new ears down to observe it.

It was white and the fur was slightly curled.

“Well, don’t worry about that.” Marisa waved again, but this time it had a different meaning. She was turning to leave. “It suits you, you look cute.”

“Marisa!”

“Stop by sometime to tell me how it goes! You know where I live, right?” Marisa had her back to Byakuren now, she was walking away.

“I do…” Byakuren sighed.

“Good! Oh, and, uh, be careful. I heard that there’s a wolf in the forest that likes to munch on bunnies.”

Marisa continued off into the distance. Byakuren watched her as she left.

One of her ears twitched.

 

* * *

 

Marisa had been right again, the potion really did help. The forest quickly became overwhelming, the bamboo grew together thickly making it nearly impossible to squeeze through, but she managed.

Occasionally she would find a clearing that would seem to lead deeper in, but Byakuren quickly learned to trust her new rabbit instincts the potion had given her, because the seeming straight clearings would lead around in circles.

Above her, the thunder rumbled some more.

Occasionally there would be a flash of lightning that would light up the bamboo ahead of her.

Luckily she didn’t have human eyes, if she did she would be lost completely in this darkness, having to depend on the brief moments of light the lighting provided.

She trudged on forward, the bamboo got even thicker. She found herself having to bend weak stalks and step over them.

Her umbrella had become too bulky to navigate through these small spaces. She reluctantly shut it and tucked it under her arm with the first aid kit.

With the loss of her umbrella, she took the full force of the storm. Her hair and dress plastered themselves to her. Her new rabbit ears sulked on top of her head.

She’d lost feeling in her hands again, and by now water had leaked into her boots and started stealing that warmth too.

This was miserable.

She could just turn back and wait till morning, but Seija could easily get away in that time. She could just fly over the bamboo, but she doubt she would be able to see anything on the forest floor beneath the canopy.

Lightning flashed again. Thunder rumbled almost immediately after. The storm was just about on top of her.

The rain picked up even more, as did the wind. It whipped heavy droplets in her face. She had to squint to see.

Lightning again, the thunder this time was louder, it lightly shook the ground around her.

Just up ahead she thought she saw something in the seconds of light the lighting provided. It looked like maybe an uneven spot of mud on the ground, or perhaps just a play of the light, a shadow cast by a stalk.

She moved towards it.

Rain pattered down around her and splashed down into puddles.

Byakuren had to push aside another stalk to move forward, as she did so, it shook fat drops of collected rainwater down onto her. She slipped in between it.

Lighting again, there was definitely something there. The thunder followed.

Byakuren moved closer, and stopped.

Someone was laying sprawled out on their stomach on forest floor.

Whoever it was was in a mostly white dress, she could see tanned arms and legs sprawled out around her uncomfortably as if she had just collapsed. Most interestingly, though, Byakuren could make out dark hair.

Byakuren quietly moved closer.

She couldn’t tell if the girl was breathing.

The girl’s face was in a sizeable puddle. Byakuren couldn’t see bubbles.

The rain fell and landed on the girls already sopping wet dress.

Byakuren got even closer.

A few feet away from the girl, was a purple sandal. A few inches closer, was her other one. The girl’s feet dug into the mud. Her sandals bobbed slightly in the muddy water.

Byakuren stopped and held her breath.

Neither moved at all.

Lightning, then thunder.

“Um... Hello…?” Byakuren finally called. “Are you alright?”

The girl didn’t move.

“Hello?” Byakuren called again, she took a step closer.

Suddenly, the girl shot up. She spun around to face Byakuren in a splash of mud and rain. She tried to stumble to her feet, but slipped and fell down again. She dug her feet into the mud, and pushed herself back against one of the stalks nearby, eyes wide and wild.

Byakuren flinched at the movement and put both of her hands up.

“I’m not here to hurt you. Are you alright?” Byakuren said.

The girl blinked at her, breathing heavily.

There was a beat of silence, the girl relaxed. Was that a smirk?

“Are you hurt?” Byakuren asked again.

That really was a smirk.

The girl yawned, Byakuren saw sharp teeth peek out from her lips.

“What’s your name?” Byakuren asked.

The girl folded her arms behind her head, and leaned up against the stalk.

“Reimu Hakurei.” The girl said, still smirking.

Byakuren frowned.

“Oh… I believe you just confirmed my suspicions…”

The girl snickered. She looked up at Byakuren through her dripping bangs. Her red eyes glinted.

“Are you Seija Kijin?” Byakuren asked.

The girl’s smirk widened. She got to her feet slowly, and stretched her arms above her head. She gave a dramatic yawn, and turned to leave with a small wave.

Byakuren hurried after her.

“Wait, wait, just a second!” The umbrella slipped out of her hand, she had to pause to recollect it before following after her. She noticed the girl hadn’t bothered to put on her sandals, and collected them as well.

“Um,” Her arms were very full now, as she followed. “I’m Byakuren Hijiri and-”

“Oh, great.” The girl said, bored.

“I believe earlier you were claiming to be under my teachings. And doing this at a very delicate time for the Taoists. They believed that my temple had been responsible for what had happened to their home!”

“Awesome.” The girl’s grin grew even wider.

Up ahead, there was a particularly bright flash of lightning. The bamboo ahead cast long thin shadows over them.

“I don’t think you really understand the severity of your actions… And you were the one who damaged the Taoist’s Mausoleum in the first place, weren’t you?”

“Woah,” The girl put up her hands. “Now don’t go pointing any fingers, Miss Hijiri.” She said her name as if it left a sour taste on her tongue.

Byakuren frowned.

“I’d like to prove your innocence as much as anyone else-”

The girl let out a sharp cackle that startled Byakuren.

“Oh?” She glanced over at her, her eyes were filled to the brim with something indescribable, something that made Byakuren uncomfortable.

“Which is why, I’d like to ask you to come back with me to the Mausoleum, so they can identify if you did it or not…” Byakuren said slowly.

“Oh, sure.”

“Really?” Byakuren’s face light up. “Oh, come with me this way then. I know the way out.”

The girl did no such thing. She kept on going in the direction she was headed.

“Um.... Miss… Is it safe to call you Seija?”

The girl didn’t look back at her. She continued to trek on. Byakuren followed.

“I said, the way out is in the other direction, if you’ll just follow me…”

The girl had to shove past a particularly thick patch of bamboo. She didn’t hold the stalks out of the way for Byakuren. Byakuren pushed them aside to squeeze through.

The girl remained silent.

Lightning flashed, Byakuren saw there were a few splotches of white in her hair. She was vaguely reminded of Shou.

“Miss Seija.” Byakuren said, “Are you going to come with me?”

Seija didn’t answer.

“Are you hurt…?” Byakuren’s eyes traveled down her back to look for any blood stains, but Seija was painted almost entirely with mud.

Seija stopped. Byakuren did as well.

Suddenly, Seija whipped around; how did she even manage to turn that quickly?

Purple bullets blazed towards Byakuren.

Byakuren yelped and jumped back just out of the way of the nearest wave.

Byakuren looked up ahead, and saw Seija had bolted. She had already put a good small distance between the two of them.

Byakuren weaved through the bullets and hurried after her.

“Wait!” She called breathlessly.

More purple bullets surrounded her. They lit the surrounding area in their glowing light. The green bamboo turned a sickly grey in the tint. Byakuren’s front was lit up as well, she could see the entire bottom half of her dress was soaked in mud.

She wove her way through the bullets.

With a single careless move, Byakuren felt one graze against her elbow. It burned at her skin. She flinched and dropped the umbrella onto the ground.

It landed in a puddle with a splash.

She raced forward after Seija. A bullet came particularly close to her face, but she took to the air and made her way around it.

“I don’t want to fight you, but you really need to come with me!” She called.

Seija didn’t stop, she’d taken to the air too.

The bullets faded, granting Byakuren a few precious seconds of wiggle room. She zoomed forward.

Seija was 15 feet ahead of her, she wove through the bamboo recklessly. Occasionally she would take a bamboo stalk to the shoulder, it would slow her down, but not by much. The stalk would sway back and forth violently with the movement.

Byakuren followed in her path, dodging the bamboo as best as she could.

She could see a red haze gathering around Seija, a telltale sign of a spell card about to be played. She prepared herself for the worst.

A second later, red bullets were flying at her. She squeezed through the first wave, but halfway past her body, they changed directions completely. She took a bamboo stalk to the hip, and nearly dropped one of Seija’s sandals.

“Please!” She called up ahead, but Seija wasn’t there. Byakuren felt her heart pound in her chest. She scanned the bamboo up ahead, movement from the canopy caught her attention. She saw Seija flying higher, and followed.

They emerged above the treeline. It was raining harder up here with no leaves for shelter.

Seija turned and faced Byakuren. She wasn’t smirking anymore. Instead, her eyes were tired and heavy lidded, her face was tinted a strange pale color as if she were going to faint or be sick. She was gnawing on her lip so hard, Byakuren could swear from here, she could see blood.

“SCREW OFF YOU RABBIT EARED FREAK!” Seija screamed.

She started up a new pattern of bullets not too unlike the previous red one. This one, however was accompanied with a fair number of blue bullets as well.

Byakuren had to move quick to squeeze around them, they always seemed to be changing directions. How did she keep doing that?

Byakuren looked up at Seija, Seija’s smirk had returned, although it wasn’t as playful as before. She could see her eyes flashing. Seija had stuck out her tongue, her sharp teeth dug into it.

“I don’t want to fight you!” Byakuren called. A blue bullet dragged itself against her shoulder blade.

Seija didn’t answer, instead she threw her head back and cackled. Her top was nudged slightly off her shoulder with the movement, Byakuen could see her boney tanned shoulder with a flash of lightning.

“Seija!” Byakuren’s voice was drown out with the thunder.

Seija cocked her head to the side and cackled some more.

The next second Byakuren felt her body jerked with some invisible force. She felt disoriented and sick to her stomach. What did Seija just do? She felt as if she had fallen a few hundred feet, but instead she found herself some ways above where she had been before.

Before she could think any more on that matter, more purple bullets were headed in her direction. She backed up to avoid them, but found there were even more of those same bullets behind her, rapidly heading towards her.

She looked over to find Seija, but even more bullets obscured her view. She heard Seija’s cackle again.

She begrudgingly reached in her top and pulled out a spell card herself.

She could hear her heart pounding in her ears.

Byakuren started a card.

She fired wave after wave of purple bullets right back at Seija. They were less random than Seija’s and were squeezed closer together in waves of alternating larger and smaller bullets.

She heard Seija give a shrill laugh.

“WHAT A MONK! WHAT A MONK!”

Byakuren felt her body being thrown through the air again, hitting a few of her own bullets along the way. Her stomach lurched. She found herself where she had been before, flying just below Seija.

She caught a glimpse of Seija amongst the chaos. She was weaving between Byakuren’s bullets; one of Byakuren’s smaller ones dug into her shoulder. Seija screwed up her face and grunted.

She met eyes with Byakuren, and her face turned back into her usual smirk.

“DIDN’T WANNA FIGHT, HUH?” Her teeth flashed.

Byakuren had to squeeze between two of Seija’s bullets before she answered.

“You’re making this difficult! I only want to talk!” She called back.

Seija’s eyes twinkled.

“AND YET YOU FIRE AT ME!”

A few more bullets came zooming towards Byakuren’s head. She had to drop at least 10 feet to avoid them.

“WHAT A MONK! WHAT A MONK!” Seija’s voice called again.

Both spell cards faded out.

Byakuren started up a different one. She fired a few lasers around Seija. She sent waves of blue butterfly danmaku after her as well.

Seija looked down at her as she started her own spell card.

Byakuren waited, she didn’t see bullets coming towards her, and yet she had felt the surge in energy around her as if Seija had played a spell card.

She felt something sharp and hot dig into her back, and let out a cry.

Seija cackled.

Byakuren turned to see a mass of glowing arrows headed towards her. She turned her shoulder to Seija to weave around them.

As she brought her attention to the arrows, to her side, she heard Seija cry out.

She turned to see that Seija had trapped herself between a mass of the butterfly danmaku and one of the lasers. Seija’s spell card dropped.

Seija emerged from the mass of glowing bullets, looking as if she were about to fall apart. Her eyes stared at Byakuren, half lidded, but sharp. She had taken up gnawing on her lip again. Her fists were balled.

“I’m sorry!” Byakuren called.

“FUCK YOU!” Seija spat.

Seija started up a new spell card immediately.

Byakuren found those familiar red bullets zooming towards her. She darted back out of the way. A thin wave of larger bullets followed in the red bullets wake.

It wasn’t very hard to dodge, but it was coming at her quick.

Byakuren felt herself being flung through the sky again. She was turned on her head, and was above Seija again. She was nauseous. She gagged. She tried to steady herself, but rammed her side into one of the larger bullets.

Before she could collect herself, she was flung through the air again, this time below Seija. She gagged again. Her spell card flickered.

Another wave of red bullets zoomed towards her.

She haphazardly avoided them, only just barely.

Above her, She heard Seija cry out again. She looked up to see she’d taken a butterfly danmaku straight to the chest.

She met eyes with Byakuren for a flicker of a second.

Byakuren felt herself being tugged up into the sky, but slower this time. She stopped about halfway up from where she had been before.

Seija’s spell card dropped.

Then, Seija plummeted out of the sky.

 

* * *

 

Byakuren raced after Seija as she fell.

Her stomach leapt with the sharp dive.

Seija was falling headfirst, legs up to the sky.

An instant before Seija fell into the brush, Byakuren scooped her up into her arms and leveled out.

Seija was so light.

There was a small crashing noise from below. Byakuren noticed she had dropped the first aid kit as well as Seija’s sandals. They had fallen down back into the bamboo. She heard a snap as the first aid kit popped open and spilled its contents out onto the muddy forest floor.

She sighed and looked down at Seija.

Byakuren had one arm hooked under Seija’s shoulders, and the other under her knees. Seija’s legs dangled.

Seija was just barely conscious, her eyes kept rolling back, then blinking at Byakuren in an attempt to focus on her.

Seija’s lips were parted slightly. She let out a low groan.

Byakuren felt her stomach churn. She swallowed hard.

She had done this to her.

“Seija…”

“Urghh….” Seija grimaced and clutched her chest. She curled in a bit.

Byakuren bit her lip. She held Seija more closely against her and felt a surprising amount of warmth emanating from Seija’s body.

She looked down. Her once white top was coated in mud, and, something else. She felt ice run down her spine. Seija was bleeding through her dress. There was a scarlet splotch on Byakuren’s top where Seija was pressed against her.

“Oh dear…” She swallowed hard. She wanted to ask who had given her that wound, but maybe now wasn’t the time for that.

Seija’s eyes were still fluttering, but slower now. She seemed to be only just waking.

“Seija...” Byakuren said quietly.

“Mmh…” Seija’s brow furrowed. Byakuren saw her grip tighten on her chest.

She looked so fragile in her arms. Byakuren felt something in her stomach tighten.

“Seija, I’m going to bandage you up, ok?”

“Leave me alone…” Seija’s voice came out all but a whisper.

Byakuren looked up. Around her, bamboo stretched for miles. The stalks created a murky ocean of green leaves.

In the distance to her right, she saw the faint lights of the human village, and began heading in that direction.

Rain fell around her. It was quieter now, the thunder had stopped. It seemed the storm was passing.

Seija stirred a little in her arms. She put her hand flatly on Byakuren’s shoulder and gave a weak shove.

“Putm’ down…”

“You’re hurt. I’m not going to leave you here.”

“I said…” Seija shoved again, this one was even weaker, “Put. me… down…” Seija’s fingers dug into Byakuren’s top she balled the fabric in her fist and groaned. “Put…” Seija took in a deep breath and gritted her teeth together. She shoved Byakuren again.

Byakuren looked down at her.

She was so light.

“Seija, I’m so sorry I hurt you…”

“Pu-...” Seija’s voice faded as if she had lost consciousness, but she gave Byakuren another shove.

“It was never my intention to hurt you… I shouldn’t have been so rough. I’m so sorry.” Byakuren swallowed. She felt a lump forming in her throat. “I’m so so sorry, Seija.”

She looked down at Seija, her vision was blurry. She blinked tears out of her eyes.

Seija had the side of her face resting on Byakuren’s upper arm. Her cheek was squished against it just so slightly. Her soaked bangs were plastered to her forehead, tiny horns poked out of them.

She reminded her of Nue.

Byakuren swallowed.

She was so light.

Seija grimaced and brought her hands down to the side of her stomach where blood had stained Byakuren’s shirt. She clutched at it. Her breathing became labored.

“I’ve made a grave mistake… I can only ask for your forgiveness, though I don’t expect it…” Byakuren said.

Seija let out a small whimper. She curled up even more.

“Seija, I’m so sorry… I’m sorry… It’ll be ok.”

Seija bit her lip. There were small cuts on it from earlier when she had gnawed into it, she dug her sharp teeth into those same bite marks.

The solitary red splotch in her bangs was stuck up just above her face; rain dripped from it onto her flushed nose. The cold had stolen most of the color from Seija’s face aside from her red cheeks and nose.

She was so light.

Her black and white speckled hair was a mess.

Byakuren had to blink more tears out of her eyes.

“It’ll be ok…” Byakuren said again. She lightly rubbed at Seija’s shoulder with her thumb.

Seija took in a deep shuddering breath. Her lip trembled.

“Seija,” Byakuren held her a little closer. “I’m going to take care of you, you can rest.”

“Screw off.” Seija’s voice wavered, and her breathing hitched in her throat. Seija let out a sob. She turned her face away from Byakuren as much as she could.

Her face was already wet from the rain.

Seija swallowed down a sob, and she brought her hand up to Byakuren’s shoulder again. Byakuren noticed her palm was coated in scarlet. Seija gave Byakuren another shove, this one was harder than before.

Byakuren held her firmly in her arms.

She looked so fragile, almost ready to crumble.

Byakuren felt her stomach tighten again. She wanted Seija to make it through this.

“It’s going to be ok.” Byakuren cooed.

“Just put me down.” Seija whimpered. She sobbed openly now, and brought her hand to her face to wipe her eyes. There was a small smudge of blood left behind.

Byakuren’s stomach writhed. She wanted her to be ok. She wanted Seija to make it through this. But, she wanted to bandage Seija up herself. She wanted to drape a blanket over Seija’s shoulders and stop her shivering.

“I will not.” Byakuren said softly. “I won’t…” Byakuren rubbed Seija’s shoulder some more.

Seija’s chest heaved as she let out another sob.

Byakuren adjusted her arm under Seija’s shoulders a little, and brushed some of the hair out of Seija’s face.

She had thick eyebrows. Just like Murasa.

Byakuren’s stomach twisted and coiled. She had felt this feeling before.

Byakuren looked down at Seija.

Tears spilled down Seija’s cheeks, hidden by the rain.

Byakuren was worried for her. The same familiar worry that nagged on her nearly every second of the day for the other residents of the temple. It was the worry she had for the people she called her children.

Something blazed in Byakuren’s chest.

She wanted to protect her.

Byakuren smiled softly down at her.

Seija glanced up at her, her eyes were tired and wet.

Byakuren smiled a little wider. Seija looked away.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get you dry and bandaged up in no time…” Byakuren said.

Seija kept quiet. She curled up a little more, and sniffled.

The lights of the human village were just ahead now. Byakuren could see fog had started to form, it hung low on the streets in thin patches.

Apparently few humans had decided to venture out in this weather. Aside from a straggler or two, the town looked empty.

Warm lights poured out from windows and balconies, cutting through the shadows. Their lights shone down and reflected upon small streamlike puddles, visible only just where the fog hadn’t reached yet.

It really had flooded.

Byakuren glanced down at Seija.

Seija had her eyes low looking out over the village, though her gaze was blank.

Byakuren ran her thumb over Seija’s shoulder again. She noticed that her hands were still very numb, though Seija’s body heat was helping a bit.

Soon, she was passing the human village behind. She found herself flying over the road that lead to the temple.

A few of the shrines on the sides of the road held small flickering candles.

The scent of incense and rain hung in the air.

Byakuren wondered who had lit them.

The temple was in view now, Byakuren lowered herself closer to the ground.

An inviting warm light shone in the windows. Byakuren happily anticipated the shelter the temple would provide.

Seija struggled a bit in her arms.

Byakuren looked down at her.

“Just about there.” She said quietly.

Seija didn’t answer. Byakuren saw her eyebrows were knitted together in aggravation.

Byakuren gave her a weak smile, but Seija didn’t look up. Her eyes were sharp again, she was looking at the temple and chewing on the inside of her lip. It seemed she had regained some energy.

As Byakuren approached the front steps, she touched down on the landing where the burnt jizou statue stood. She continued up the steps.

Seija squirmed in her arms again, this time a little harder.

Byakuren made her way to the front door, and, well, opening it was a bit of an effort with Seija in her arms, but she managed to maneuver through it.

She stepped into the threshold with a soft sigh as the warmth of the temple engulfed her.

From somewhere inside, she heard quick footsteps heading in her direction.

“She’s home!” Kyouko’s voice came booming from not to far in. Byakuren smiled.

She glanced down at Seija who’s face had darkened significantly.

Kyouko rounded a corner and came into view. She stopped in her tracks, wide eyed, when she saw Byakuren.

It really was a sight. Byakuren was soaked to the bone. Her dress hung heavily on her, dripping onto the wooden floor. Her boots were completely plastered in mud, as was most of the rest of her. Her hair was a sopping knotted mess. The rabbit ears on top of her head drooped sadly, and dripped onto the top of her head. Her face was pale, with red flushed cheeks. She was trembling, but smiling warmly at Kyouko.

More curiously to Kyouko, was Seija in Byakuren’s arms.

Kyouko saw Seija was equally as soaked and muddy as Byakuren. She had bare feet; her toes weren’t even visible beneath all the mud she had collected on them. Her face was slightly bruised, and she had bite marks on her bottom lip. She was glaring daggers at Kyouko.

“Um…” Kyouko frowned.

Byakuren beamed.

“I’m home.”

“Welcome back… Is- is everything, ok? Are you hurt…?”

“Ah… it would be best if you brought me some bandages…” Byakuren said with a smile. Kyouko’s eyes went wide at these words.

“Hey,” Seija spoke up.

Kyouko looked at her, startled.

“Hey, dog girl.” Seija’s mouth twisted into a nasty grin. Kyouko pouted.

“I’m not a-”

“I’m gonna kill you.” Seija’s sharp teeth peeked out of her lips. Kyouko paled.

“Mom…?” Kyouko looked up at Byakuren, concerned.

“Ah, don’t worry, Kyouko, dear. She won’t do that.”

“I’ll strangle you.” Seija’s voice came again. Her eyes glinted. “Then I’ll burn this temple to the ground.”

“Don’t listen to her, sweetie.” Byakuren frowned down at Seija. “Can you fetch me some bandages? Oh, and maybe a few towels?”

Kyouko looked at Seija quietly. It was a strange and rare occurrence when Kyouko was left silent. She looked up at Byakuren, though her eyelashes, hesitated, then nodded slowly. Her ears bobbed with the motion. She turned and headed back in the other direction.

“Ah, dear!” Byakuren called, “Take them to my chambers, ok?”

“Mmhm…” Kyouko called back.

Byakuren kicked off her boots, and nudged them aside with her foot.

She headed into the temple, leaving muddy footprints along as she went.

She made her way to her personal chambers, a room that was connected to her bedroom through a sliding door on the far wall.

It wasn’t very spacious, but it was well fitted enough to get things done.

Usually, she would give private lectures in here, usually to either Murasa or Shou, as they acted up quite a bit.

Inside, was a short oak table with two purple zabuton cushions on either side of it. On the table were several incense burners as well as religious scrolls and a small framed crayon drawing Kyouko had made for her.

The side of one wall was entirely a paper window. Raindrops clung to it. It was quiet now. It seemed the rain was stopping.

Byakuren moved one of the zabuton cushions around to the other side of the table, kneeled down, and gently placed Seija down onto them.

Seija sat up, suddenly, and tried to push away from Byakuren. Her muddy heels slid against the floor with a squeak as she tried to gain leverage to push away harder, but Byakuren put her hands firmly on Seija’s shoulders and pushed her down onto the cushions again.

Seija grimaced at her grip. Byakuren frowned and lightened it a little.

“Please, my child, just rest. You’re hurt…” Byakuren said.

Seija spat in her face. Byakuren blinked and wiped it away with the back of her hand.

“I swear, I’m gonna kill you.” Seija gritted her teeth together. “I’ll skin that dog girl first, then burn this temple down with you inside it.”

“Ah… Please do not speak like that.” Byakuen said.

Seija tried to spit at her again, but broke out into a coughing fit instead.

Byakuren frowned and brushed her bangs away. Seija flinched at this. She brought her hand up and dug her clawlike nails into Byakuren’s wrist.

“Don’t fucking touch me.” She said through her teeth. Her nostrils flared.

Byakuren grimaced at her grip and pulled her hand away.

“I’m sorry…”

Footsteps could be heard from down the hall, Byakuren glanced over just as the door opened.

Kyouko stood in it’s frame. She had a bundle of towels in her arms. On top of the bundle were a few rolls of bandages. Kyouko eyed Seija nervously.

“Ah, thank you, dear.” Byakuren smiled as she accepted them.

Kyouko kept her eyes on Seija apprehensively. Seija gave her a wicked smile back, her eyes laughing.

Kyouko frowned, then slowly shut the door. Her shadow was visible through the screen for a few moments as she stood still, then disappeared along with her footsteps.

Byakuren turned back to Seija. Seija tried to sit up again, but halfway up grunted and gripped at her side. She let out an aggravated puff, and collapsed back onto the cushions, sweat beading her forehead.

“Oh dear, my child…” Byakuren took a single towel in her hand and leaned down a bit over Seija. Seija glared up at her. “Don’t exhaust yourself more…”

She extended the towel to Seija, but Seija didn’t take it. Seija just glared up at her.

“Dear child,” Byakuren began slowly, “You’re going to get sick if you don’t let me treat you.”

“Shove off, you pig.” Seija’s fingers dug into her side some more, “You no good kidnapper scum.”

“E-excuse me?” Byakuren frowned.

“YOU KIDNAPPED ME!” Seija shrieked. Byakuren blinked.

“I took you here to bandage you. The medical supplies I brought with me to the forest were lost in our fight.”

“AND YOU ATTACKED ME! You just wait till I can walk again. I’ll tear this place to the ground!” Seija snarled.

Byakuren frowned and folded the towel several times. She brought it to Seija’s side, moved Seija’s hands out of the way, and pressed it against her.

Seija let out a sharp cry and dug her nails into Byakuren’s wrists.

“FUCK!” She let her head fall back, her breathing quickened.

“I’m sorry to hurt you, but I need to stop this bleeding.” Byakuren said firmly. She winced as Seija’s nails dug into her skin.

“Know what? This is all your fault! You coulda just left me alone,” Seija lifted her head to look Byakuren in the eye. Sweat was streaming down her forehead, “But, no. Now you’re gonna have to deal with me. That dog girl will go first. She’ll be easy to throttle around.”

“Don’t speak like that.” Byakuren frowned, she applied a little more pressure to the towel on Seija’s side. Seija clenched her teeth. “Now, just take off these wet clothes and I’ll bandage you up. That will hurt a lot less than this. I think Murasa wears the same size as you. You can wear something of hers.”

“You’re a disgusting pig. I bet you’ll smell just like ham when you’re roasted alive.” Seija’s lips curled into a smile, although her eyes remained sharp.

Byakuren kept her pressure on the towel.

“Enough of that speak.” She said, frowning some more. “Seija, I’m begging you. Just let me treat you. I know a substantial amount on how to handle this kind of wound. I’ve studied a bit of medicine.”

Seija spit in her face again.

“You’re going to regret this. You’re going to regret it till your last miserable breath.” Seija said, her voice was rough.

“I’m going to regret this if your wound gets worse if I can’t get you to let me bandage you. Or I’ll regret it if you catch pneumonia in those clothes.”

Seija attempted to shove Byakuren’s hands away but only managed to nudge them a little bit to the side.

Outside it sounded like the rain had stopped. Now there was only the occasional patter as a droplet would drip down from the roof.

“Burn in hell.”

“Seija…” Byakuren frowned. “Please, I only want to help you…”

“Help me!?” Seija threw her head back and cackled. “Help me?! As if I’d accept any help from the likes of you!” She looked Byakuren in the eyes, and leaned as far as she could get into Byakuren’s face. “After you assulted me, kidnapped me, and held me captive!? That’s rich.”

“I will admit to those things.” Byakuren frowned. “And yet, where would you be if I hadn’t taken action? Unconscious on the flooded forest floor...” Byakuren frowned and met Seija’s cold gaze firmly.

“I wouldn't be held against my will here!”

“Seija…” Byakuren frowned. “Were you lost?”

“Fuck you! I was napping!”

“Seija,” Byakuren lessened her pressure on her side. “You were lost in the forest… And lost in another way, am I right?”

“ _Oh, here we go_!” Seija rolled her eyes, and nails dug deeper into Byakuren’s skin. “You’re gonna try to preach to me, eh? About how lost in the world I am~ Shove off, you swine!”

“Seija, I know you ran into that forest for safety. Didn’t you? I know there’s a bounty on your head, that you’re one of the most wanted people in Gensokyo. I don’t know what you got yourself into after you destroyed the Taoists’ Mausoleum, but whatever you did ended up going badly for you. That’s how you got this wound, right?”

“You’re talkin’ outta your ass, you fraud of a monk!” Seija snarled.

“Seija, what do you think is going to happen to you if you continue to live like this? Do you think you’ll be able keep going in this condition?”

Seija tried to shove Byakuren’s hands away again in response.

“Seija, I don’t want to open the newspaper one day and hear news of your death. I don’t want to see a photograph of your lifeless body in a roadside ditch.”  
“OH!” Seija’s eyes flared. “So now you’re threatening’ me, huh!?”

“It’s not a threat.” Byakuren leaned down a bit. “I only want to protect you. If you keep living like this, eventually you’ll find yourself dead.”

“You’ll be the one dead!”

“Seija, I’m only asking that you give up this violent streak of yours! I care for you… If you would like, you could even stay here at the temple. I could promise you that no harm would come to you under my care.”

“No, what you want is to see me donned in a monk’s robe! You want to see me bowin’ my head at you! You want me to be another brainwashed lackey of yours! You wanna pat yourself on the back with the great accomplishment of saving a poor lost soul like me. But you can’t! You won’t! And you hate me for that! You hate that I make you question that stupid religion of yours! I scare you, don’t I?”

“Absolutely not,” Byakuren shook her head, “If you stayed here, I wouldn’t require you took up my teachings. Miss Mamizou and my Nue do not, and yet they stay here.”

“They’ll go next. They’ll be the next ones dead after that dog.” Seija showed her sharp teeth. Byakuren frowned.

“Please do not threaten my family.”

“Aren’t monks supposed to give up family anyway? You really are a fraud. And yet you're so lost in your lies that you actually believe them! You’re delusional!”

“Ah, I do keep those in my temple close to me as my family.” Byakuren smiled softly. “I really am not perfect. I never said I was. But, Seija, you know, you could join this family if you wished… I have more than enough room in my heart… And I already care for you dearly… You remind me so much of my Nue and Murasa.”

“You’re doing it again! You’re delusional! You hate me! Go on! Say it! You hate me!”

“I don’t hate you.”

“You do! You hate me so much it makes you sick! You’re just telling yourself the opposite because you’re so afraid of the idea that not everyone can be saved! I’m making you doubt everything you’ve ever believed!”

“I don’t hate you, my sweet child. And no you’re not.” Byakuren’s smile grew a little. “I care for you very much.”

“You only care about that perfect Seija you see in your mind! The one that’s dressed in monk clothes and washes behind her ears and all that!”

“I said that doesn’t matter. I care about you how you are right here and now. Your wits, your laugh, no matter how rueful, and your spark. I hold that all very dear. I won’t try to convert you, I only want you to stop this violence that has put you in this ill position.”

“ _No, my precious delicious child_ ,” Seija imitated Byakuren’s voice, “ _I care for you so much, that’s why I fired at you, and kidnapped you, and hold you down._ ” Seija clenched her teeth again. “Not everyone is as stupid as those lackey of yours.”

Byakuren sighed. “I understand I have been rough with you. I apologize again…”

“Go to hell.”

Byakuren frowned and pulled the towel away from Seija’s side a bit. It was stained brown with mud and maroon with blood. She frowned. Seija looked down at the stained towel, then brought her glare up to Byakuren.

“Dear child, let me bandage you. I’m begging you.” Byakuren said quietly.

“Keep your hands off of me.” Seija tightened her grip around Byakuren’s wrists, her claws dug through her skin, beads of blood began forming. Byakuren grimaced.

“Your wound is only going to get worse if you don’t let me treat it…”

Seija adjusted herself a bit, she sat up, this time fully. Byakuren was a surprised at this.

Seija looked at Byakuren flatly, Byakuren blinked back.

Suddenly, things went white. Byakuren’s head ached. She brought her hands up to clutch at her throbbing forehead. When she pulled it away two splotches of her own blood were on her palm where Seija’s horns had punctured her skin.

She vaguely heard several rushed squeaking footsteps, and blinked up from her palm, eyes watering.

Seija was holding her forehead as well, and had stumbled to her feet. She dashed out the door, knocking it off its track. Byakuren sprung up as well, and followed after her.

“Wait!” Byakuren called.

Seija raced down the hall, footsteps squeaking. Drying mud was crumbling off of her feet as she went.

Seija rounded a corner and was temporarily out of sight.

Byakuren heard Shou’s voice from that direction.

“H-hey! Who are y-EAGH!”

Byakuren sped up and rounded the same corner. Shou was standing against the wall, she had tea spilled down her front, and was looking very startled. Shou looked down the hall at Seija who had taken to the air and zoomed through the doorway that lead down the hall to the back garden. Shou turned and saw Byakuren trailing after her, and her eyes went even wider.

“Mother, who was-”

“I’ll explain later.” Byakuren said as she dashed straight past Shou.

From behind her, she heard Shou’s voice say, “Uh… ok?”

Byakuren took to the air as well, she zoomed forward just a few feet above the ground, and headed after Seija.

The hallway that lead to the back garden passed very quickly in a rush of paper screens and wooden beams. Before she knew it, she was at the back door. The back door was flung off its tracks, Byakuren assumed this was Seija’s doing.

She exited through it, and was immediately pummeled with a mass of long red bullets. She tumbled to the ground, body aching.

Above her, she heard Seija’s cackle.

It took her a bit to collect herself from this. As she got to her feet again, she saw even more bullets heading in her direction, she jumped to the air, and wove around them.

Seija was several hundred feet above her. She seemed to be firing these bullets from behind her back, as her front was mostly exposed. Her eyes glared down at Byakuren, but her mouth was twisted into a smile.

It took Byakuren a few long moments to get up to where she was flying.

“Stop this!” Byakuren called as a bullet zoomed past her head. “I’m not going to fight you again!”

“You’re a liar!” Seija called.

A bullet grazed over Byakuren’s shoulder, she winced at it, and found that the red bullets were bouncing back from behind and coming at her back. She turned to the side to face them.

“I won’t fight you!”

“That’s what you said last time!” Seija’s cackled. “But you did! Now stop lying and put up a fight, _monk_!”

Byakuren squeezed through the bullets without answering. Seija growled at this.

Her bullets faded out, but Byakuren felt a surge of energy as she started up a new spell card.

Suddenly wave after wave of small red and blue bullets were headed her way. It was almost impossible to squeeze through them. Byakuren smelled her hair burning as they came within inches of her face.

Byakuren reached into her blouse and felt a spell card, she gripped it in her fingers, but hesitated. Another wave came at her, equally as tight. She removed her hand from the card and brought her hand back to her side.

“I said I won’t fight you!” She called.

Seija let out a shrill laugh in response.

This card faded quickly, Byakuren had a few precious seconds to move. She zoomed closer towards Seija.

Seija’s eyes went wide as she saw Byakuren rapidly approaching. She rushed into a new spell card.

Byakuren was flung to the side.

Familiar purple bullets came at her, she wove up through them, even closer to Seija.

She could see Seija’s face from here. Seija was sweating, her brow was knitted together and her tongue was stuck out in thought. The purple light from the glowing danmaku lit up her face, she was paled, in her eyes was panic. Byakuren was getting closer.

Another wave  came at Byakuren, the bullets were random and somewhat far apart, but fast moving.

She was flung through the air again, Seija appeared on her opposite side, looking the same as she did a few moments ago, maybe even more panicked.

Byakuren squeezed through this wave, she was getting used to being flung around like that.

Seija was ten feet in front of her.

Byakuren was flung through the air again, her knee brushed up against a bullet, but she kept moving forward.

Seija was just ahead. Byakuren was right on top of her.

Seija let out a yelp.

Byakuren wrapped her arms around her. She buried her face into the side of Seija’s hair.

“I love you, my child.”

She felt Seija take in a sharp breath.

Suddenly they were falling. Byakuren tightened her grip around Seija, and tried to pull up, but she was too weak. She couldn’t stop the ground from approaching, but she was able to angle her body.

She positioned herself below Seija, she distractedly noticed that Seija was crying into her shoulder.

The next instant, Byakuren’s world when white. She had the air knocked out of her lungs. She crashed back first into the mud below.

She struggled to breathe, it was so hard. It was so hard to stay awake.

Seija was still sobbing into her shoulder. Byakuren's arms around her were limp.

A moment later, Seija seemed to come to her senses. She unwrapped herself from Byakuren’s arms and unsteadily got to her feet.

“You’re the worst!” She sobbed, “I never want to see you again!”

Byakuren heard Seija’s footsteps get further and further away, but couldn’t move to stop her.

Everything went black.

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there!  
> First off, sorry for the typos in the first chapter, I published it with really tired eyes because I'm stupid, so I didn't catch any of the mistakes. But now they should all be fixed, so thanks for your patience with me on that part.  
> Secondly!  
> If you've gotten this far, I can't even begin to express how grateful I am that you've stuck with me this long. This thing is getting long, and will just continue to grow so the fact that you're taking time out of your own life to read it is just phenomenal and I can't thank you enough. I really hope that you're enjoying. I'm putting a lot into this ;;  
> Also, shout outs to Purvis, Chris (not Christ whoops whoops), Noe, Aaron, Toad, and you [ winks ]  
> I hope you enjoyed meeting the trash baby, anticipate from here on out regular trips to the dump


	3. Part 3

The first thing that Byakuren noticed when she woke was that she was warm.

The second thing she realized, was that she ached everywhere.

Byakuren let out a long groan and opened her eyes.

She was in her room, bundled up in her futon. She was dressed in her brown yukata pajamas. Her rabbit ears were gone, and her long wavy hair was messy and frizzy. It was stuck up in the back from where her pillow had been cushioning her head.

By the looks of the bright sunlight pouring in from her window, it was some time in the afternoon.

When had she gotten into bed? Why was it so late in the day?

Byakuren groaned again and buried her aching head in her hands as she tried to recall. Her palms felt something rough. She felt her forehead, there were two small scabs on it.

Memories of Seija came flooding back to her, particularly the one of being headbutted like that. She winced.

Then, her eyes shot open.

She remembered freefalling, she remembered that she could not remember anything after that.

She sat up, with the intention of finding out just what had happened, but something strained in her back. She wheezed and collapsed back onto the futon, clenching her teeth.

Every part of her body was sore. Especially her back.

Thank goodness she wasn’t human, that fall would have killed her. And thank goodness again that her youkai body healed quickly, if not, she would be in bed for weeks, maybe even months.

Someone knocked on her door. She looked over to see who it was.

Shou appeared in her doorway, she was frowning and carrying a tray of tea. Her eyes lit up when she saw Byakuren.

“Thank the heavens, you’re awake!” Shou shuffled over to Byakuren’s futon and kneeled down next to her. She placed the tray of tea on the floor just beside her. “You really had a rough night. How are you feeling?” Shou poured her a cup of tea. Byakuren took it, she saw faint claw marks on her wrists as she did so.

“Ah, I’m just sore and tired…” Byakuren said, she blew on the tea.

“I can imagine!” Shou frowned, and leaned back a little. A beam of sunlight cast over her face. Byakuren saw her slit-like pupils shrink as she squinted. “You must have fallen from 200 feet! I saw it all happen! I was so scared!”

“I’m sorry, my child…” Byakuren frowned and took a sip of the tea. Only now did she realize how hungry she was. Her empty stomach ached, but the warm tea made it feel a bit better.

“Miss Mamizou is really cross with you.” Shou said, “She’s been worried sick. She was the one who carried you inside yesterday, so she got an up close and personal look at how beat up you were…” Shou frowned and ran her eyes over Byakuren’s bruised face. She wrung her hands together, a nervous habit she had picked up from Byakuren.

“Ah… I’ll apologize to her… I apologize to you as well. I didn’t mean to worry you.” Byakuren frowned and sipped again at the tea. She could tell it was Unzan who brewed it. His large fingers made it difficult to collect the appropriate amount of tea leaves, in result he always added in much too much. The tea was strong and stung at her throat, but was familiar and welcome.

Shou frowned some more, and nodded.

“Just please don’t pull something like that again… What was that all about last night, anyway? I thought that girl stole something so I chased after her-”

“You did? What happened?” Byakuren pulled the cup away from her lips.

“She got pretty far into the forest and I turned back… But Kyouko said you were the one that brought her in!”

“Ah, indeed I was.” Byakuren nodded. Shou tightened her lips.

“Why? I thought you were just going to bring her to the Taoists so they could identify her! Were you lecturing her?”

“No, not exactly. She was wounded and I was trying to treat her…”

“Oh…” Shou sighed. “I should’ve expected that, she was limping pretty bad…”

“Ah… So, you didn’t manage to bring her back inside?” Byakuren looked down into her teacup. The tea was a dark rosewood color. It smelled heavily of earthy black tea.

“Well, no. She got to the part of the forest with the thorn bushes and I only had slippers on… Plus, I was worried about you so I came back… But, in any case, you must’ve really spooked her if she took off like that with a wound… Do you think we’ll need to worry about her anymore?” Shou leaned forward a bit. The sun moved off her face, her pupils dilated.

“Ah… hm… Maybe...” Byakuren felt the cup in her hand, it was warm.

“Mother…” Shou furrowed her brow. She cast her eyes down to the claw marks on Byakuren’s wrists. “Oh, no, Mother, don’t you tell me...”

“Hm?” Byakuren blinked.

“Don’t tell me you got attached to her…” Shou brought her hand up and ran it through her short hair in exasperation. Blonde strands were pushed out of the way, her dark roots showed in the trails her fingers created.

“Ah…” Byakuren gave her a soft guilty smile. Shou groaned in response.

“Mother! You can’t just keep every youkai you find in the rain!” Shou looked Byakuren up and down, “Just look what she did to you!”

“She needs help, Shou…” Byakuren said, “And I think that I can help he-”

“Oh, no, no, no! That’s what that hug right before that fall was about, wasn’t it?! Mother! I thought us taking Nue in would be the last time!”

“And Nue is such a nice addition to this family…” Byakuren lowered her gaze.

“Yeah! But! You’re missing the point! You get attached too easily!”

“I do…” Byakuren chuckled lightly, “But is it a bad thing to have a soft heart?” She glanced up at Shou, eyes twinkling, “If I do remember correctly, you had quite the fight in you yourself when we first met…”

Shou groaned, Byakuren caught sight of her large fangs.

“W-well! I mean-!” Shou blushed and folded her arms. “That was different!”

“Oh?” Byakuren giggled.

“Yeah! I didn’t try to kill you!”

“Mmm, indeed you didn’t.”

“And her…? Why her?”

“She is dear to me.” Byakuren said smiling.

Shou let out a long loud groan.

“This again!”

“Forgive me.” Byakuren covered her mouth and laughed into her palm

“She isn’t just some lost cat you know.” Shou pouted and blushed some more.

“I’m aware of this.” Byakuren smiled and took another sip of her tea.

“You can’t force her to like you.”

“I’m aware of this as well, my child.”

Shou refolded her arms and tucked her hands into her sleeves.

“I can’t believe this again… and another troublemaker… Oh,” Shou closed her eyes and hung her head, “I’d only just gotten used to Nue’s antics.” She glanced up at Byakuren. Byakuren smiled back.

“Forgive me, but I truly believe I can help her.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Shou huffed.

There was a knock on the door. Byakuren and Shou turned to face it.

Nazrin appeared in it. She smiled when she saw Byakuren.

“Good! You’re awake!” She grinned, her two buck teeth poked out between her lips.

“I am.” Byakuren smiled back.

Nazrin turned her head, and apparently looked out the doorway, it was hard to tell with all that hair covering her eyes.

“Uh, you gotta visitor.”

“Hm?” Byakuren blinked.

“Nazrin, I think she isn’t really in any condition for visitors.” Shou said slowly.

“No, no, I’m ok. Who is it?” Byakuren asked.

Nazrin turned back to them and gave them a strange look.

“Toyosatomimi.” She said.

Both Shou and Byakuren blinked.

“Oh?” Byakuren shifted to sit up as much as she could. She had to adjust her pillow to support her back. “Oh, well… That is a surprise.”

Shou looked down at her, “Are you sure you’ll be ok? We can just say you’re not feeling well.”

“No, I’ll be alright.” Byakuren smiled. “You can show Miko in, Nazrin.” Byakuren said.

Shou got to her feet, and collected the tray she had carried in.

“I’ll give you some privacy… I’ll come by later for your cup.” She said as she made her way towards Nazrin and the door.

“Thank you.” Byakuren smiled back.

Shou gave her a little bow and exited.

Nazrin remained in the doorframe.

“Hey,” She said.

“Yes, my child?” Byakuren blinked.

“If that prince tries to pull anything weird, you just call for me. I’ll keep an ear out for ya.”

Byakuren chuckled.

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.” She said.

Nazrin nodded and turned to leave.

Byakuren heard Nazrin’s voice from not too far outside her door speaking to someone, then heard Miko’s voice.

The door opened a moment later, and Miko stepped in dressed in navy hakama pants with a white baggy shirt and wrapped in a long dramatic cape.

Miko looked surprised at the sight of Byakuren in this condition.

Byakuren merely smiled back and beckoned the prince over.

“Come in, come in. What a rare visit!” Byakuren grinned and motioned towards her bedside. “Have a seat.”

Miko hesitated, then moved in and took a seat where Shou had previously been sitting.

There was a beat of silence. Miko seemed unsure where to start, and looked around somewhat awkwardly.

“How can I help you today Toyosatomimi?” Byakuren broke the silence.

Miko eyed her curiously.

“Word is that you found who was responsible for destroying my Mausoleum.”

“Ah… Indeed I did…” Byakuren ran her thumb over the rim of her cup.

“And? What happened? Did she do this to you?” Miko leaned in, eyes wide.

“Indeed.” Byakuren nodded.

Miko’s lips parted.

“Wow, you look pretty beat up.”

“I feel as I look.” Byakuren gave a rueful chuckle. “But I will heal.”

“And what happened,” Miko asked, leaning in a bit more, “What happened to that girl who did this? Who was it?”

Byakuren frowned.

“Her name is Seija Kijin. She’s an amanojaku who’s got quite the reputation for causing trouble.”

Miko nodded in thought.

“I’ve heard that name before. Wasn’t she the one responsible for that recent incident?”

“Hmm… Which one?” Byakuren tilted her head.

“The one with that kobito. Where everyone’s powers got messed up, and then all those tsukumogamis started popping up.”

“Oh, yes. I recall… Mamizou took quite an interest in the tsukumogamis after that.”

“She’s just bad news then.” Miko shrugged and sighed. “I’m a bit relieved, I was scared someone was singling us out, but she’s an amanojaku, so it’s expected.”

“Ah…” Byakuren frowned and looked down.

“You don’t agree? Did she say something about picking us as targets?”

“No, no, it’s just,” Byakuren looked up at Miko. “Just that is a nasty thing to say, isn’t it…?”

Miko blinked at Byakuren, wide eyed, then let out a loud chuckle.

“You’re joking right?”

“I am not.”

“Oh, dear sweet Hijiri.” Miko’s lips twisted into a smirk, “I’m just telling the truth! Not everyone is as innocent as you see through those rose tinted glasses of yours.”

“I’m simply saying that’s a cruel thing to say. Let’s not stereotype.”

“Stereotype?” Miko snorted.

“Yes, Just because she’s an amanojaku doesn’t necessarily mean she’s ‘bad news’ as you put it…”

Miko chuckled again, this time louder.

“You really believe that? Really? Hijiri, what makes an amanojaku an amanojaku is their sheer asshole nature.”

“Toyosatomimi, your words are cruel today...”

Miko had to wipe tears away from laughing so hard.

“You’re so naive! It’s in their nature! It’s what makes them them! What else are you suggesting would make an amanojaku an amanojaku, huh?”

“Blood? Spirit?” Byakuren smiled a bit, “Are you saying that you would not be of royal blood if you did not act like it?”

“What is a prince but someone who takes the part?” Miko smirked. “What makes a monk other than someone who acts as one?”

“Well, what makes an oni an oni? I’ve met quite the quiet oni actually, but that doesn’t make her any less of what she was born as, don’t you agree?”

“Hijiri,” Miko leaned in a little closer, “Are you trying to tell me that you’ve ever once in your life heard of a nice amanojaku?”

“Now, maybe many of them wouldn’t be so rueful or cruel if they didn’t grow up hearing harsh words about what they’re supposedly supposed to be, dear Toyosatomimi? Maybe it’s not in the blood, but the environment.”

Miko chuckled again, but this was an empty one.

“You’re really something, Hijiri. Really something.”

“Do you think so?” Byakuren gave a small smile back and finished off the rest of her tea.

“I do. But, tell me, I’m awfully concerned why you’re talking in this way.You’re not defending her, are you?”

“I believe I am.” Byakuren nodded.

Miko’s smirk fell.

“Hijiri, that menace destroyed my home. She nearly killed you by the looks of it. And, that reputation of hers precedes her. Your kind words aren’t going to stop the retributions that are coming to her.”

“Toyosatomimi,” Byakuren began.  
“Yes?” Miko frowned.

“Do you intend to pursuing her, or having someone else pursue her?”

“I do. I’m not going to let her get away with what she has done.”

“And what do you intend to do with her?”

“I’m not sure.” Miko shrugged. “I think that Hakurei has it out for her head. I’ll probably turn her over to her. After I get done with her, that is.”

Byakuren frowned and was silent for a few long moments.

“Toyosatomimi no Miko.” Byakuren finally said.

“Yeah?”

“Do you remember what you said to me yesterday?” Byakuren asked quietly.

“Hm? What did I say to you.” Miko blinked at her.

“You said you would make it up to me for your actions. You told me that you owed me.”

Miko let out a groan.

“Hijiri! Please don’t go there!”

“I’d like to ask you to not seek her out. Not you, nor anyone else in your party, or anyone else you might employ to seek her out.”

“Hijiri! You’re killing me!”

“Toyosatomimi no Miko, are you telling me you won’t do this? After you told me that-"

  
“Urgh!” Miko groaned again, “Fine! Fine, ok I promise. I’ll leave her alone. Geez, you use that solid on this? Really? Of all things… I was expecting, I dunno, you to ask me to repair your roof or something. ” Miko sighed.

Byakuren grinned.

“The temple roof is perfectly adequate for now, thank you.”

“Ugh…” Miko sighed again. “You’re really killing me.”

“I’m sorry.”

Miko looked up at Byakuren, looking slightly amused.

“I know you probably don’t wanna deal with me in your condition, so thanks for seeing me.” Miko said after a few moments of silence.

“Nonsense, your presence is always welcome.”

“Heh…” Miko snickered, “I can’t tell if you’re a flat out liar, or too polite for your own good.”

There was another knock on the door. Byakuren and Miko looked over at it. Nazrin popped her head in again.

“Hey, blondey.” Nazrin said.

Miko made a very disgruntled noise.

“Your lackey out here is getting unruly.”

“Futo?” Miko sighed. “I told them to wait outsi-”

“Mine Prince!” From somewhere out of sight, Futo’s voice carried in.

Miko sighed again as Nazrin was shoved aside. Futo’s silver-haired head popped into Byakuren’s room.

“Hello Mononobe.” Byakuren smiled.

Futo stared flatly back at her, then brought their eyes on Miko, and gave a warm smile.

“Art thou finish'd speaking with that brach?”

Miko shushed them.

“Wherefore?” Futo raised an eyebrow. From beside them, Nazrin grunted and tried to shove them out of the room, but Futo was apparently too strong for the little mouse’s attempts.

“We are in their home, Futo be polite.” Miko said.

“Fie, but they art eternally malapert to us, thou wot?”

“Not always, Hijiri and I were just having a polite conversation.”

“Did ye in actuality?” Futo’s eyes went wide, they glanced between Byakuren and Miko.

“Yes.” Miko nodded, then turned to Byakuren. “I’ll get out of your hair. You need your rest.”

“Ah, thank you Toyosatomimi.” Byakuren bowed a bit. Miko bowed back.

“Mine Prince!” Futo cried, from the doorway. “Doth not thee bethink thou art being a tad too polite to that wench?”

“Hush, she’s in no mood to fight. Show a little compassion.”

“Nev'r! Mine hatred cannot beest ceased!” Futo exclaimed and raised their fist, accidentally smacking the back of Nazrin’s head in the process.

“Hey! Watch it.” Nazrin grunted.

“I bite my thumb at thee, little rodent. Suffer mine fury!”

Nazrin turned to face Futo, fists raised, but Miko hurried over to break the two apart.   
“Enough, enough. Futo don’t embarrass me.”

“Mine Prince! My most humble apologies…” Futo bowed low. From beside them, Nazrin just looked miffed.

“Yeah, yeah…” Miko sighed. “Let’s just go.”

“Aye. This one desires to wend home.” Futo nodded.

Miko turned to Byakuren and gave her a bow.

“Feel better.” Miko gave a little wave.

“I will, thank you for your concerns.” Byakuren grinned.

Miko smiled and headed out the door.

Futo lingered in the doorway, glaring at Byakuren. They stuck their tongue out at Byakuren with a, “Nnnyeah,” then rushed out after Miko.

Nazrin stood where she was and glared after the two as they left.

“What a buncha clowns…” Nazrin’s ears drooped, annoyed.

“I hath heard what thou hath said, impertinent beef-witted scut!” Futo’s voice carried in fainty.

“GOOD!” Nazrin called back, shaking her fist.

Byakuren sighed and settled back against her pillow.

Nazrin noticed and glanced over at her.

“You ok?”

“I am.” Byakuren nodded.

“You sure?” Nazrin leaned on the door.

Byakuren chuckled.

“I’ve been better, but I am ok.”

Nazrin nodded slowly.

“Get some rest.”

“I will.”

Nazrin nodded again and stepped out of the room. She shut the door behind her.

 

* * *

 

Byakuren slept for the rest of the day until Murasa called her for dinner.

She found that she had regained her strength to walk. Most of the bruises she collected had faded, as well as her cuts and scratches. Her body was still very sore, preventing anything more than a brisk walk, but that seemed to be the worst of it.

She made her way down to the dinner table. The dining room was a spacious area with two long paper screen doors printed with mountain scenes. In the center of the room was a long stout cherrywood table with zabuton cushions on either side of it.

One of the doors was opened, a cool pleasant breeze blew in. It was sunny today, the storms had all passed.

When Byakuren entered the dining room, she was greeted warmly.

Murasa had quickly ushered her to her seat so she was off of her feet.

Ichirin sat next to her, and repeatedly asked her how she was feeling.

Kyouko took the seat on the opposite side of her and had buried her face in Byakuren’s chest and openly wept. Byakuren felt as if her ribcage was reverberating with Kyouko’s deafening wails. She patted the small girl’s head in attempts to calm the girl, but Kyouko’s volume only increased.

Unzan came in toting a very large pot of mapo tofu, and placed it on the table. When he saw Byakuren sitting there, he changed several shades of pink happily and his cheeks dissipated in a puff of what resembled cirrus clouds only to reappear, then dispate several more times. He exited the room with a small excited rumble to collect more dishes to bring out.

Byakuren found Nue hadn’t disappeared since last night. Nue sat a few seats down from her and gave her a small smile when they met eyes.

Byakuren also found that Mamizou was, as Shou had said, very cross with her.

Mamizou across from her looking serious, a sight Byakuren wasn’t accustomed to seeing. She would glance up at Byakuren through her lashes every few minutes but remained quiet, also something Byakuren wasn’t accustomed to experiencing.

Shou and Nazrin sat beside Mamizou across the table.

Shou had taken up wringing her hands together again.

Nazrin seemed to have noticed this, as she had taken offering Shou small smiles in attempt to get one back. After a few tries, Shou responded with one, not a strong one, but it was something. Nazrin seemed to be satisfied with this, she patted Shou on the back hard with a, ‘cheer up, you’ before turning to her tea and downing it in one gulp.

Dinner started when Unzan finished carrying in the remaining dishes.

Byakuren was grateful to get something in her stomach. She dug into the mapo tofu, it was savory and spicy, and warmed her. She finished her plate in half the time it would have taken her normally.

Aside from Murasa accidentally stepping on Nazrin’s tail when she stood up to get another pot of tea, dinner passed without incident.

Dinner ended when Unzan finished carrying away the remaining dishes.

Byakuren had stayed behind to help with dishes against many protests.

She found herself in the kitchen washing plates and bowls alone.

The kitchen was a small room attached to the dining room through an old sliding door. It had a long window on one wall. Against that same wall, were countertops cluttered with spices and towels and several knife blocks. All the way in the right corner was the ice box where they stored perishable goods, just beside that was a small old stove that needed to be replaced.

Byakuren stood at the sink, looking out the long window.

She was alone now. Ichirin had stayed behind to help a bit, but was dragged off by Shou begging her to patch up her shirt that she had accidentally torn when she had followed Seija into the thorn bushes last night.

The sun had just set, the sky was a blushing pink. It made her think of Unzan.

The door opened from behind her, and she turned to see Mamizou had appeared in the doorway, arms crossed. She was dressed in a purple turtleneck sweater with long maroon skirt, and shoulders covered in an old thin brown haori jacket. The tanuki frowned at Byakuren.

“Hello there, Miss Mamizou.” Byakuren gave her a small smile. Mamizou didn’t smile back.

“Hijiri.” Mamizou said, and stepped over to her side.

“Yes?” Byakuren glanced down at the dish in her hand, it was white with a thin blue border of leaves adorning it. Warm water rolled off the ceramic plate and pattered down into the sink.

Mamizou leaned against the counter next to her and swished her tail.

There was a long moment of silence filled by the noise of the running sink. Kyouko’s muffled voice carried in from somewhere far away, she was laughing.

“You know, what you did last night was really reckless.” Mamizou said finally.

“Ah… yes.” Byakuren kept her eyes low. “I apologize. I was told you were the one who brought me in last night.”

“I was.” Mamizou said firmly. “I was also the one who changed you out of those filthy clothes.”

“I thank you for that.” Byakuren said quietly.

“Hijiri.” Mamizou said.

“Yes?” Byakuren looked up at her again.

“Do you remember what you told Nue last night?” Mamizou raised her eyebrows.

“Ah…” Byakuren thought back and frowned, “That I would-”

“That you would come back safe. That you wouldn’t do anything reckless.” Mamizou raised her voice a little. “Do you have any idea how worried we’ve all been about you?”

Byakuren lowered her head.

“I-”

“You don’t. When I carried you in last night Nue saw. She thought you were dead.”

The plate almost slipped out of Byakuren’s hand.

“Oh…”

“Don’t you dare scare us like that again.”

“I won’t… I apologize again…” Byakuren glanced back up at Mamizou.

Mamizou stared firmly back at her, lips tight and brow knitted.

A long moment passed.

Mamizou’s face relaxed. She gave Byakuren a small warm smile and patted her on the shoulder.

“Glad you’re ok.” Mamizou’s voice has relaxed as well. She pulled her hand away and nudged her glasses up a bit.

“Thank you, dear.” Byakuren smiled.

Mamizou took a step closer, she lowered her voice to a whisper.

“Shou told me you’re thinkin’ about takin’ in the one that did this to you.”

“Ah.. Yes.” Byakuren’s smile fell.

Mamizou leaned in even closer. Byakuren could smell smoke on her breath.

“Ya know, this is supposed to be a Buddhist temple.” Mamizou tilted her head down and looked up at Byakuren through her lashes. Her glasses glinted in the light from the window.

“I haven’t forgotten…” Byakuren gave her a weak smile.

“Just wanted to make sure. Ya know, most Buddhist temples keep amanojaku statues out front to keep other bad things away. And you wanna bring that in here?”

“Miss Mamizou-”

“Yes or no?”

“...Yes.”

Mamizou leaned in even more. Byakuren had to back up a bit so their noses weren’t touching.

“Do you know how that old saying goes?”

“There are many old sayings.” Byakuren blinked.

Mamizou’s lip curled into one of her devilish smiles.

“Quickest way into the heart is through the stomach.” Mamizou’s eyes moved past Byakuren to the ice box in the corner. Just a few minutes ago, Unzan had put the leftovers inside of it. Byakuren looked over at it silently.

“I don’t want you gettin’ hurt.” Mamizou said. “And I know how set you can get with these kinds of things. But let me tell you somethin’, when you want to catch a wild animal, it ain’t gonna trust you unless you’re one of two things.”

Byakuren turned to look at Mamizou.

“And what would those things be?” Byakuren asked.

“One, a potential mate.” Mamizou smirked, her fangs glinted. Byakuren sputtered.

“Absolutely not.”

“Two, a source of food.” She winked.

Byakuren glanced back at the ice box.  
“Don’t get hurt.” Mamizou patted Byakuren’s shoulder again. “Know when you’ve pushed her too far, ok?”

“Ah, yes.” Byakuren nodded.

“Good girl.” Mamizou took a step back and turned to leave with a wave. Her large tail blocked out most of her body from view. “If you’re really serious about this,” Mamizou called over her shoulder, “You should get a room set up for her.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Byakuren said. “Ah, thank you, Miss Mamizou.”

“No problem.” Mamizou shut the door behind her.

 

* * *

 

Byakuren finished washing the dishes in no time at all.

She placed them away, then turned silently to the icebox in the corner. It was a tall, sturdy, and made out of a thick wood to insulate it and keep it cool.

She glanced out the window. In the distance, she could see the edges of the forest curving around the border of the temple. A gust of wind blew through them, and a small wave of orange leaves twirled into the air.

Byakuren wondered if Seija was still nearby.

She turned back to the icebox and opened it. She took out the leftovers, as well as one of the bento boxes underneath the cabinets.

Usually, the temple would donate these bento boxes to school children who didn’t have the money to purchase their own, but this school year they had purchased a handful too many. They had stored them away, with the intention of donating them at the start of the next school year,  but the loss of one wouldn’t hurt, as there would be newer ones purchased as well.

Byakuren got to work packing the bento box. It was a small black wooden one with a small duck painted on the corner of the lid. Byakuren had thought that design was particularly cute when she picked it out, but maybe Seija wouldn’t appreciate it as much as she did. She finished packing it, placed it in its matching drawstring bag, and tucked it under her arm  

Byakuren laced up her boots, and headed out.

The box was filled mostly with the leftovers from dinner, the mapo tofu, some rice, and steamed vegetables. Byakuren also added two of those almond cookies that Kyouko liked so much.

_Who doesn’t like cookies?_ Was her reasoning.

She headed down the back garden into the forest.

Most of the plants and shrubbery from the garden were wilting in the cold, but here and there were a few bushes that were fighting off autumn, and sporting a few green leaves.

The sun was far behind the horizon now, the sky was a light periwinkle color. The sky to the East was already rapidly becoming night.

She found luck was on her side, there were footprints tracking through the mud. One belonged to someone who had left and returned, they had apparently been wearing slippers. Byakuren recognized these as Shou’s. The other, were made with bare feet and only led away from the temple. Byakuren hurried after these.

They led down the small hill behind the temple, and into the forest as Shou had said.

The air was crisp and fresh, it smelled like damp ground and carried the faintest scent of incense on the breeze.

Byakuren headed into the forest. Most of the trees had lost a decent amount of their leaves. They were painted brightly in oranges and reds. Byakuren made a mental note to personally compliment the Aki sisters on their work this year. The leaves on the ground were soggy and soft. They did not crunch under Byakuren’s feet. It was a little disappointing, there was something satisfying about that little crunch.

The footprints led haphazardly through the trees. Once or twice, Byakuren found the footprints were elongated as if Seija had stumbled and her feet had slid through the mud.

Birds chirped happily from the branches above, their song carried over to Byakuren. She realized her heart was beating fast, and she could hear it in her ears.

She only realized now that she was nervous. She swallowed, looked down at the bento box under her arm. That cute duckling on the bag smiled up at her.

Just up ahead, a sizeable stick was snapped in two, a barefooted print marked exactly where it broke. Byakuren hurried on.

Not too far from that branch was a thicket of thorn bushes. They were gnarled with nasty rose colored thorns. Byakuren noticed that the slippered footprints had stopped. Byakuren felt lucky that her boots came up to her knees. If they hadn’t, the prickly bushes would have torn up her shins and ankles.

Now only up ahead was the trail created by Seija. Byakuren hurried along it.

It became quiet as the sky darkened. The birds stopped singing, and the wind died down a little too. Byakuren’s heart was louder than ever in her ears.

A few long minutes passed as she followed the footprints deeper.

She adjusted the bento box under her arm.

Was that movement in the brush?

Byakuren stopped and held her breath.

Nothing.

She waited. Maybe she imagine that…

She glanced around, but there was no one.

The trees here were growing together thicker, but it was nothing compared to what the Bamboo Forest of Eientei was like. Their thick brown trunks reached up to the sky. There was a small gust of wind that jostled a few leaves off of their branches. A leaf brushed lightly against Byakuren’s nose and continued on till it was pinned up against a tree nearby as the gust continued to blow on. As the wind died down, the leaf fell to the ground and landed in a small puddle.

She continued on for a few more moments.

The footprints here were closer together as if Seija’s gait had slowed.

Up ahead, the footprints completely changed direction as if Seija had stopped running and taken to wandering the forest. They jutted off to the west. Byakuren followed them.

They led to a sizable pile of yellowing leaves. There was an indent that pressed through the leaves into the mud about the size of a body. Byakuren guessed this is where Seija had spent the night.

She heard more moving behind her and froze.

This time she had definitely noticed something.

Was that breathing?

Byakuren swallowed and clutched onto the bento box.

“Hello?” She called. Her voice echoed off the trees around her.

She heard something behind jostle a few leaves. A bird was disturbed by this movement, and flew away.

“I’m not here to drag you away again…” Byakuren said. “I just… well I brought some food if you would like some.” Byakuren took the box out from under her arm and held it in her hands.

She turned a little, and glanced behind her, but saw nothing.

“It’s safe to eat. Nobody did anything to it.” She reached into the bag and opened the bento and popped a slice of carrot into her mouth. She chewed it and swallowed. “See? Safe.” She closed it again, pulled the drawstring tight, and set it beside the pile of leaves.

“I’m sorry I scared you last night… I was worried about you and let my emotions get the best of me without thinking about yours… I hope you can forgive me.” Byakuren said slowly.

She glanced around, but again saw nothing. “I’ll leave you to eat.” She gave a little bow.

She began heading back to the temple, but stopped after a few steps.

“My offer still stands if you wish to join us at the temple… even if it’s for a meal, we’d be happy to have you for as long as you’d like to stay.”

She waited, but there was no response of any kind.

She made her way back to the temple in silence.

 

* * *

 

The next day after dinner, Byakuren made the same trek into the forest.

The footprints in the mud had faded a decent amount. Various animal tracks had also mingled in with the original tracks, causing a decent amount of confusion. But, Byakuren found herself able to successfully able find that same pile of yellowing leaves.

Once again, she had a bento box tucked under her arm.

This one sported a particularly cute frog. The frog was bronze and cartoonish with large eyes and thin tongue stretched out to spell the word _cutie_. The bento box had been intended for a younger audience, but Byakuren thought it was so cute, she herself had even used it a few times.

It contained a serving of vegetarian potstickers, as well as peanut-lime noodle salad, and some rice. And, of course, Byakuren thought to add in another two almond cookies.

_If she liked the ones I gave her yesterday, she’ll be disappointed if I don’t pack any today,_ was her reasoning.

Byakuren found herself standing by the pile of yellow leaves.

She was pleasantly surprised to see that the bento box was out of its bag. She bent down to open it, and found that it had been emptied.

Something in her stomach twisted happily.

Of course, there was no guarantee it had been Seija who had eaten it. There was always the possibility that a faery had gotten to the bento and enjoyed a nice free meal. Although, faeries didn’t seem like the type to leave such a cute bento box behind. Byakuren suspected that if it really had been them, they would have made off with it, or at least broken it.

In any case, she packed up the old bento box, and replaced it with the new one.

She stood up straight, and tucked it into its bag, whilst glancing around through the trees for any movement.

She didn’t see or hear anything out of place.

It was cool out tonight. The sun had set twenty minutes ago and the sky was quickly darkening. The ground had dried a good amount since the storms two days back, but the leaves were still disappointingly not crunchy.

Byakuren took a step to the side to examine another patch of trees. Her breath hung in front of her face. She was thankful she had decided to wear her cape today. Temperatures seemed to be dropping. She shivered.

A thin cloud appeared as she let out a small shuddering breath.

She squinted her eyes, trying to look deeper into the trees, but still could see nothing out of the ordinary.

She sighed, causing another cloud to form, this one larger than the last.

A chilled wind blew against her back. It stabbed at her, even through her cloak.

“Hello?” Byakuren called.

There was no response. She blinked.

Another gust of wind, her cape fluttered.

She brought her arms up and hugged them against herself.

“I brought you some more food…” She called again. Her voice carried far in the cold air. She heard it echo off the trees. “It’s still warm, you should eat it before it freez-…” She looked down at the bento box set in the yellow leaves.

Her eyes traveled over to the indent in the leaves. She could not tell if it had changed since yesterday.

She reached up and unbuttoned her cape. She pulled it off of her shoulders. The frigid air around her had no mercy for her thin clothing. She let out another shivering breath, and draped the cape over one arm.

“I’m leaving this here for you.” She said, and began folding her cape, “It’s not the thickest, but it’s warmer than nothing. Feel free to use it.” She placed the cape down next to the bento box. She stood back up straight and glanced around the trees once more. “I’ll be leaving.” She waited, but there was no response.

She made her way back to the temple.

 

* * *

 

Inside, the temple was welcoming warm. Byakuren removed her boots and placed them aside.

There were quick footsteps pattering against the wood, coming rapidly in her direction.

Kyouko came bounding down the hall, ears flapping wildly, and tail wagging behind her. She was grinning ear to ear.

Byakuren barely had time to register her approach. She opened her arms at the last second and Kyouko hopped into them. Byakuren almost dropped the bento box, it slipped out of her grip, but she caught it just in time before it could fall to the ground.  
“Oomph!” Byakuren wrapped her arms under Kyouko’s and held her against her.

Kyouko beamed up at her.

“I’m home.” Byakuren chuckled and bounced Kyouko once in her arms as she adjusted her to get a better grip.

“Welcome home!” Kyouko boomed. Byakuren felt her ears ringing.

“You’re in a very good mood.” Byakuren observed as she stepped further inside.

The smell of something sweet wafted over to her.

“Ichirin is cooking!” Kyouko said, put one hand on Byakuren’s shoulder, and pointed down the hall that lead to the east wing with her other. “But, she won’t let me taste till she’s done. But since you’re home, go tell her I can.”

“Oh?” Byakuren headed where Kyouko was pointing. She found herself heading towards the kitchen.

“Yeah. She’s making those creampuffs!” Kyouko wriggled a little in Byakuren’s arms. Byakuren set her carefully down on the ground. She tucked the bento box back under her arm.

Kyouko hurried off ahead of Byakuren, and rounded the corner just up ahead.

Byakuren followed after her, and made her way to the kitchen.

As Kyouko had said, Ichirin was cooking.

Ichirin had on Shou’s apron. It didn’t fit her well, as their body types were nearly the exact opposite. Shou was tall, thin, and moderately well built. Ichirin was short and plump. The apron itself was yellow cotton, and came down much too low below Ichirin’s knees, and didn’t cover her front as entirely as it should have. It was covered in a decent amount of flour, as was Ichirin. She had a long white smudge of it across her forehead where she had apparently wiped her hand at one point.

Ichirin turned and grinned when she saw Byakuren enter.

“Oh! Welcome back.” She gave Byakuren a little bow, the wooden spoon in her hand clumsily clanked against the counter with the motion. She looked a little startled by the noise at first, then blushed when she realized she had gotten a bit of batter on the countertop where the spoon had hit. She was honestly too cute for her own good. Byakuren felt a familiar urge to pinch her cheeks, but resisted.

“Thank you.” Byakuren said instead. She settled for patting Kyouko on the top of the head instead.

Kyouko looked up at Byakuren curiously.

“So, tell her I can try some.” Kyouko said. Her voice bounced off the walls loudly in the small kitchen.

“I told you no!” Ichirin said, shaking the spoon a bit. “You always get too excited and end up with a stomach ache. Just wait till I’m done.”

Kyouko groaned, but before she could say anything more, Unzan squeezed past her and floated in to Ichirin’s side. He gave Byakuren a smile.

Byakuren returned it.

Unzan turned to Ichirin, apparently silently telling her something. Ichirin nodded and turned to Kyouko and Byakuren.

“Hey, Kyouko leave us talk for a bit..” Ichirin said to Kyouko. Unzan looked a little startled by her words.

Kyouko groaned even louder. The glasses in the cabinets rattled.

“No way!”

“Yes way!” Ichirin nodded. “Go, go.” She started shooing Kyouko out. “Go and play with Mamizou or something. If you’re good I’ll let you try one as soon as they’re done!”

“Liar!” Kyouko stood her ground. Ichirin sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Come on, go. I need to talk to Mother.”

Kyouko huffed and turned to Byakuren for support.

“Kyouko, dear.” Byakuren placed her hand on her shoulder.

“If Ichirin needs to speak with me, can you wait outside for a bit… I’ll let you have my puff if you do.”

Kyouko pouted silently as she thought this through then nodded slowly.

“Promise?”

“Promise.” Byakuren nodded.

Kyouko’s pout turned into a smile. She squeezed past Byakuren out the door, and shut it behind her.

Byakuren turned to Ichirin. Ichirin had turned back to the counter and began whisking some cream.

Byakuren made her way over to her side, and placed her hands on the smooth counter top.  

Ichirin suddenly brought the whisk directly under Byakuren’s nose. Byakuren blinked.

“Tell me if it’s sweet enough.” Ichirin said. Byakuren leaned in and tasted it.

It was very sweet, with a subtle hint of vanilla. The creams airiness melted on her tongue. It tasted exactly how Byakuren imagined a cloud would. It only seemed right that Ichirin had made it.

“It’s good.” Byakuren grinned. Ichirin grinned back.

“You think so? I was debating adding a little more vanilla…”

“No, it’s good as it is.”

“Good good.” Ichirin nodded and moved over to the icebox. She opened it and stored the bowl inside it before turning back to Byakuren and dusting off her hands.

“Unzan said he saw you going into the forest again.” Ichirin said, glancing over at Unzan. Unzan’s cheeks thinned a bit. He averted his gaze.

“Ah… he is right.” Byakuren nodded.

Ichirin leaned against the wall and brushed some hair behind her ear.

“You’re still determined to befriend that amanojaku?” Ichirin asked slowly.

Byakuren nodded.  
“I am…”

“Did she eat the food you brought to her last night?”

“The bento was empty, I think it might have been her, although I’m not sure…” Byakuren looked down at the bento. She opened it again as if to double check that it really was empty.

Ichirin was quiet for a long moment, before she gave Byakuren a wide smile.

“Then, I wanna help!”

“You do?” Byakuren smiled back.

“Yeah! Uh, so you gave her dinner two nights in a row, right?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Well, then she’s not gonna be expecting you around earlier in the day, so she won’t think to hide.” Ichirin winked.

Byakuren’s brow furrowed.

“You think I should go earlier then?”

“Here’s my idea. Tomorrow, why don’t you bring her breakfast. If she’s staying close enough by, you’ll be able to just catch her waking up. Sit down with her. Talk with her.”

“Don’t you think she’ll be startled by that?”

“She might be.” Ichirin shrugs. “But just make the breakfast so delicious she won’t wanna run away. Take one of the creampuffs with you!”

“Isn’t that kind of… like bribery?”

“Oh, it is. But who can resist my cooking?” Ichirin chuckled.

Byakuren chuckled along and shook her head.

“Well, you do have a point.”

“So, really, you should do it.” Ichirin grinned. “It’s going to get pretty cold tonight. You can wake her up with some nice hot cocoa.”

“Well, that does sound nice.” Byakuren smiled

Ichirin nodded and licked the whisk in her hand. She glanced over at Unzan, who still had his eyes low.

“Tell me, Ichirin,” Byakuren began, “Why did you ask Kyouko to leave the room?”

Ichirin glanced over at her and sighed.

“Well, you know she’s got a loud mouth.”

“She does have quite the impressive voice.”

“Well, I don’t think she knows what you’re doing yet… And if people knew that you’re trying to take this girl in… this wanted girl, who’s head is worth an awful lot, well, I just don’t want the word to spread just yet. Just until that amanojaku is under your wing and safe from bounty hunters… and that shrine maiden.”

“Ah, well, that does make sense.”

Ichirin grinned and moved over to Byakuren. She patted her on the shoulder. There was a smudge of flour left behind in the shape of a handprint.

“Let me help you pack the bento in the morning. You’re too humble with your flavors. We really wanna reel her in!” Ichirin beamed.

Byakuren let out a nervous chuckle.

“Well… if you insist!”

“I do!”  
“Alright.” Byakuren nodded.

The egg timer on the counter went off. Ichirin went back to work.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, the Myouren Temple was bustling.

It seemed Gensokyo had never witnessed two morning people quite as peppy as Byakuren and Ichirin. Their happy chatter filled the kitchen, as did the pleasant smells of breakfast being made.

The dawn's light poured into the small kitchen offering up a small amount of warmth. It was chilly, the outside world’s bitter wind blew against the temple walls and cooled the interior rooms. The warm stove provided a cozy amount of heat to the small room, but not much.

It seemed today would be a good day to turn on the heater.

Uneffected by the cold, Byakuren and Ichirin’s warm voices carried through the temple.

Ichirin was in a particularly bubbly mood. She wore a wide grin, and giggled frequently. She got to work washing and slicing fruit. She seemed to be feeling a little artistic, as she chopped the fruit into various cute shapes.

Byakuren was in high spirits as well, she beamed and giggled just as often as Ichirin did. Although she wasn’t in quite an artistic mood as Ichirin, she kept her dishes clean and simple.

Before long, the bento was being packed. It was filled to the brim with fresh fruit, yogurt, crackers,  omurice, and sliced tomatoes. A small thermus was filled with warm miso soup. Ichirin also insisted on wrapping up one of the creampuffs to take along.

Before the bento was closed, Ichirin shooed Byakuren aside and insisted on drawing a smiley face on the omurice, dimples and all. Byakuren wasn’t sure how much Seija would appreciate Ichirin’s enthusiasm to use her artistic freedom, but it sure was cute, so she let it slide.

Once everything was packed, Byakuren excused herself to her room to change out of her pajamas.

Byakuren dressed herself in a purple and brown kesa robe, and donned her familiar teal prayer beads. She pulled her hair up into a bun. The odd coloration of her hair gave the slightly humourous effect of a blond bun on top of a purple scalp.

She examined herself in the mirror for a few moments.

Most of the bruises on her face had healed aside from a yellowing splotch on her forehead where she bad been headbutted. She brought her hand up to it, it ached at her touch, but not much. She wondered if Seija’s wound had healed. Her stomach writhed.

She took a deep breath and made her way back to the kitchen.

Ichirin was waiting for her. She gave her a grin that was warmly returned.

“Here you go.” Ichirin said, she handed Byakuren two drawstring bags that were quite heavy.

“Ah, two? Was there really that much?” Byakuren looked down at them.

Ichirin grinned.

“No, silly. One’s for you.”

“Hm?” Byakuren lifted one up to her face. Her prayer beads clacked against each other with the movement.

Ichirin winked.

“You’ll need an excuse to sit down with her, so share the meal. Oh, I hope you don’t mind, your breakfast doesn’t have the puff. Kyouko really did eat the one you offered.” Ichirin pointed to the bag in her left hand. Byakuren could feel it was lighter than the other one, but only just.

“Thank you, dear child.” Byakuren gave Ichirin a low bow. Ichirin chuckled and returned it.

“Tell me how it goes!” Ichirin beamed.

Byakuren nodded.

“Of course.”

The sound of Kyouko yawning drifted in from her room half the temple away.

Ichirin gave Byakuren a small smile.

“I won’t give the detail on where you’ve gone.” Ichirin said, glancing down the hallway that lead to Kyouko’s room. Byakuren nodded.

“That’s appreciated.”

“Go, go, shoo.” Ichirin giggled and gave Byakuren a small push. “Go reel her in before the food cools!”

Byakuren chuckled and began heading out.

“Thank you!”

“Go, go!”

 

* * *

 

Byakuren found that the trip back to the yellow leaves was becoming easier for her to remember. This was lucky because the footprints in the mud were all but gone now. Aside from parts of the path showing some signs of being worn down, Byakuren had to rely solely on memory.

There was now a small worn trail in the thorn bushes due to all the traffic they had been getting recently with Byakuren’s dinner runs. Byakuren made her way through this small flattened path, but it seemed that the rest of the route up ahead showed no telltale signs of being traveled, so she had to make her way forward on her own.

Today was even colder than it had been yesterday. There was a layer of frost blanketing the forest floor.

Byakuren tugged her kesa around her, and rubbed her hands together. Her exposed ears began to ache and burn as they took on the full front of the frigid air. Her nose had become rosey and numb, as did her cheeks.

The familiar bird song was quieter today. Byakuren wondered if the summer birds had finally taken migrating to somewhere warmer.

Before long, she found herself approaching that familiar bed of yellow leaves. The leaves by now, were starting to brown and dwindle away. The sunlight pooled down from the baring branches onto the leaves. The lack of cloud cover made the morning even colder. All the thick insulating clouds were some distance away, and would take time to approach as the wind was soft today.

Byakuren approached the leaves quietly and looked onto them. She could see, in the center of them was Seija.

Seija was resting on her back, her legs were crossed, and her arms were folded behind her head. She gave a loud long yawn that echoed off of the trees nearby. Her breath hung in front of her face for a few moments, before dissipating.

Byakuren could see the color had returned to her face. Her skin was deeply tanned and dirtied.

Her dress had apparently not been washed since Byakuren last saw her, it was still filthy, and coated in dried mud.

She was laying on something black and familiar to Byakuren. She recognized this as her cape that she had left last night.

Seija’s hair was a mess, Byakuren suspected that if it were clean it would be fairly straight, but it was knotted and matted in a nest of black, white, and red, with small horns poking out.

Seija had her eyes closed, and was bouncing her bare foot a little. She yawned again. Apparently, she didn’t realize Byakuren was there.

Byakuren felt her insides twist. She swallowed, and took a step forward.

Her foot landed on a leaf, apparently today the leaves were dry enough to crunch. And, that’s just what it did.

Seija shot up, eyes wide. Her eyes landed on Byakuren, and she jumped back a good three feet with a yelp.

Byakuren brought up her hands, the bento boxes in them swayed with the movement.

Seija’s eyes became sharp. She glared at Byakuren silently. She had one foot in position behind her as if she were ready to bolt back into the forest.

Byakuren eyed her quietly.

A long moment of silence passed. It was filled with familiar bird songs drifting down from the treetops.

“I… brought you breakfast.” Byakuren offered a small smile.

Seija didn’t move. She kept her eyes firmly on Byakuren’s face.

“I was wondering… Well, if maybe I could eat with you today.” Byakuren slowly lowered her hands.

Seija still didn’t move. Byakuren wondered if she were breathing.

Byakuren slowly raised her foot.

Seija tensed.

“It’s ok. I’m not coming after you.” Byakuren said, and took a long slow step forward. She bent down, and slowly extended her hand with Seija’s bento box as far as she could reach. She placed it down on the ground, then slowly stood back up straight.

Byakuren was not a short woman. All in all, with her stride and arm span, she managed to get the bento box a good five feet away from her body.

She took a slow step back, then lowered herself to the ground, and had a seat.

Seija’s eyes had traveled to the bento box. Her brow was furrowed.

Byakuren smiled at her.

“It’s going to get cold if you don’t eat it.” Byakuren said as she opened up her own bag, and bento box. The familiar smell of breakfast filled the air around her. She felt her mouth water. She took out the thermus, opened it, and had a sip. The warm soup steamed slightly in the frigid air.

Seija eyed her some more.

After a long tense moment. Seija moved forward, very cautiously.

Byakuren kept her eyes low, but she could hear the crunch of the leaves, and see Seija’s figure approaching out of the corner of her eye.

Seija suddenly bent down to grab the bento, then hopped a few feet back in one swift movement.

Byakuren brought her eyes up and gave her a warm smile.

“Just made it this morning. I hope you’ll like it.”

“It’s probably poisoned.” Seija said at last. Her voice came out flat. She took a few more steps backwards and had a seat as well.

Byakuren saw Seija open the bag. She could have swore she saw Seija’s eyes light up for just a fraction of a second, but she couldn't tell.

Seija pulled out the creampuff and held it up to her face.

It was wrapped in a thin plastic wrapping. The cream had fallen slightly, and was smushed against the plastic, but it had held up well otherwise.

“Sorry, I know that’s not really a breakfast food. But Ichirin, a member of the temple, insisted I bring it now, because if I didn’t it would be eaten by dinner time.” Byakuren said as she started into her fruit. She bit into a strawberry. It mingled strangely with the miso taste in her mouth, but it wasn’t exactly bad.

Seija unwrapped the creampuff a bit and smelled it.

“So, is it arsenic or chloroform?” Seija asked as she turned it over in her hands.

“It’s vanilla.” Byakuren chuckled.

Seija unwrapped it a bit more and took a rather large bite out of it. The whipped cream got on her lips and cheeks. She wiped it off with the back of her hand.

“Definitely rat poison.” Seija said with a full mouth. She took another large bite, and finished it off. She licked her fingers.

Byakuren smiled softly to herself and took another sip of her miso before starting on the yogurt.

Seija sniffed a bit, and wiped her mouth off with her hand again before she opened the bento.

“You know,” Byakuren began, “If you wanted, you could tell me what to bring you for dinner… Admittedly, we don’t exactly have the widest range of meats, as half of us in the temple don’t eat it, but otherwise we’re pretty well stocked.” Byakuren took a bite of her omurice. “If you really wanted something badly enough, I suppose I could keep that in mind the next time I went to the market.” Byakuren said.

Seija didn’t look up. She had started shoveling down her omurice.

“Even better, if you wanted, you could come with me to the market yourself.” Byakuren added.

Seija looked up at her. Her cheeks were puffed out a bit with the amount of food in them. She didn’t speak. Instead, she opened up the thermus and started gulping down her miso.

“What kind of food do you like?” Byakuren asked. “Do you like fish?”

Seija pulled the thermus away from her lips and wiped her mouth off again.

“Nobody likes fish.” Seija shoved a few helpings of fruit into her mouth. “Plus, the rank taste makes it easy to hide the poison. At least be subtle about it.”

“Do you like beef?”

Seija snorted. A few grains of rice fell from her full mouth.

“As if a rinky dink old temple like yours could afford beef.”

“We do have it on occasion.” Byakuren smiled softly.

Seija snorted some more and gulped down the rest of her miso.

“What about chicken?” Byakuren asked.

“Rat is easy to disguise as chicken. With how run down your temple is, the rats must be huge. All that poison you have to pump into them to keep ‘em down wouldn’t cook off if you burned it to charcoal.” Seija said and glanced over at Byakuren.

Byakuren smiled back.

“You’re very witty.” Byakuren chuckled.

Seija scowled and looked back down at her food.

Byakuren kept her gaze on Seija. Her eyes traveled down her face to her side where the wound was. There was so much mud on her top, she couldn’t see any bloodstains.

Seija shoved a few crackers into her mouth, and looked up at Byakuren through her lashes.

Byakuren smiled, and said nothing.

Seija didn’t smile. She shoved even more crackers in her mouth. Little crumbs fell down her chin.

“Seija,” Byakuren began.

Seija eyed her suspiciously.

“How are you feeling…?” Byakuren asked slowly.

“Peachy.” Seija said. More crumbs sprayed from her lips.

Byakuen frowned and took a sip of her miso.

“It’s been getting cold out here…” Byakuren glanced over to the pile of leaves. Her cape was balled up in the indent where Seija had been laying.

“Kinda toasty to me.” Seija’s eyes followed Byakuren’s over to the leaves.

“You know, you’re still welcome to stay with us… if you would like.” Byakuren looked back over at Seija.

Seija had closed her bento. She shoved it aside, got to her feet, and stretched.

“Oh, you’re leaving?” Byakuren blinked.

Seija yawned, turned, and disappeared into the forest without another word.

Byakuren heard her footsteps against the crunching leaves fade.

She was left alone to finish her meal.

 

* * *

 

Byakuren had made her way back with three bento boxes in hand.

She entered through the back door, and was surprised to hear the voices of a few of the town’s farmers carrying in from somewhere in the temple.

Byakuren left the bento boxes on the kitchen counter, and went to go and meet them.

She found herself in the front sitting room. Three of the Hamada family members were seated at the table, seated across from them were Shou and Nazrin.

They all looked up when Byakuren entered. She offered them a small smile and bow.

The Hamada family was a particularly large family in the human village. Most of them were farmers, some were potters, and even fewer were shop owners. They were a quiet bunch, aside from their eldest daughter named Hoshi who had strikingly beautiful features and had taken up dancing.

Nue had taken a very special interest in Hoshi some years back. Byakuren suspected they had a particularly passionate fling that had ended in an even more passionate fight that caused Hoshi to take up living with her grandfather in the town over for a few weeks, and had lead Nue to disappear for nearly a month.

Since then, whenever the Hamada family showed up at the temple, Nue made herself scarce. Nue and Hoshi no longer spoke, but whenever Byakuren saw Hoshi she saw remnants of Nue’s personality had managed to stick with her. Especially that half smile that Nue always did.

The three Hamadas that were seated at the table did not bear  much resemblance to Hoshi. They were all plain farmers.

The one seated on the leftmost side was a tall young woman named Maho. She was dressed in a plain brown dress, and her hair tied up in a tight bun. Maho was second oldest. She had a strange way of talking that made it difficult to tell whether or not she was serious or not.

All the way to the right was Sayuri, Maho and Hoshi’s mother. She was a stout woman that had married into the Hamada family. Her hair was not the usual Hamada midnight black, it was brown and curly. She was a kind woman with a loud laugh, that Byakuren had seen a lot of when Hoshi and Nue were together.

Seated in the middle of the two women was a small five year old boy named Kota. Kota was a ball of energy that could never sit still. He bounced in place, his short chopped black hair swayed with the movement. When he saw Byakuren, he gave a wide smile.

“Hijiwi!” He explained, and bounced even higher.

Byakuren smiled and took a seat next to Nazrin.

She noticed there was a sizable bag of mon on the table,

“Heya, Hijiri.” Sayuri beamed. She would have patted Byakuren hard on the back, if she weren’t sitting across from her.

“Hello Hamada.” Byakuren bowed again. Sayuri chuckled, and settled for patting Kota instead.

Shou cleared her throat and spoke.

“The Hamadas have harvested their rice crop early. I just purchased our usual amount.”

“Oh, you’ve harvested?” Byakuren blinked.

Sayuri nodded.

“Yep, yep… Had to cut our losses…” She sighed and scratched her chin. “Old Tamuki, you know, the onion farmer, well, he said the onion skins were really thick this year… And good thing we did it when we did. I’m not trustin’ those clouds out there… Temperatures have just been droppin’ and droppin’...”

“Onwin skins!” Kota bounced a few more times. “Tempwetuwes!” He leaned against his mother hard, then sank under the table. He didn’t come back up.

“Oh, my… I’m sorry.” Byakuren said.

Sayuri waved it off, “Good years and bad years. At least we don’t have to worry about not having the demand for it. Sells out quicker than it grows, I always say.”

“It’s a good business.” Maho said flatly. She kept her eyes straight forward on Shou.

Shou looked around nervously, and wrung her hands together.

“I’m sorry… well, I hope you at least managed to break even.” Byakuren said.

Sayuri laughed and slapped her hand on the table. Shou flinched.

“I should be the one apologizing! Hadda rise the prices.” She patted the bag of mon on the table. “You guys just bought us a new cart.”

“We’ve needed a new cart.” Maho said, just as flatly as before. Her eyes were still set on Shou.

Shou was blushing now.

“We understand. No one has control over the weather.” Byakuren nodded.

“Gods do.” Maho said.

Beside Shou, Nazrin was trying very hard not to laugh.

“Ah, well-”

“WABBIT!” Kota sprung up from the table into Nazrin’s lap, and started grabbing at Nazrin’s ears.

“Hey! Watch it!” Nazrin squaked and tried to get his tiny hands off of her ears.

“Such is life.” Maho said, still monotone.

“Hey! Kota! Don’t act up.” Sayuri had gotten to her feet. She wrapped her arms around Kota’s waist and pulled him up into her arms. “This one’s all wound up.” She said hoisting Kota onto her shoulders. “Sorry about that. He gets this way around nap time. Dontcha, little guy?” She patted Kota’s leg.

Kota squealed and put his hands over Sayuri’s eyes.

Maho sighed and stood up. She collected the bag of mon and gave a little bow.

“It looks like like now is the time to head home.” She said flatly.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Sayuri nodded blindly. “Thanks again, Buddhists! Come stop by, don’t be shy now.”

Shou and Byakuren got to their feet to lead them out.

Sayuri had to duck through doorways to make room for Kota on her shoulders, but aside from that, the trip to the front door was uneventful.

Shou and Byakuren bowed as Sayuri and Maho began making their way down the front steps.

A small gust of chilled air blew against them.

“Oh, Hijiri!” Sayuri called as she reached the bottom of the steps. “Hakurei’s been lookin’ for you! Might wanna stop by that shrine of hers!”

A few feet away, Maho waved and called over her shoulder, “Have a rice day.”

Shou sighed and turned to enter the temple, but stopped when she saw Byakuren had not.

“Not coming back in?”

“Hm? No, they said Reimu was looking for me… That’s strange, isn’t it?” Byakuren frowned, and watched the Hamada’s make their way further away. Their already small figures were getting even smaller.

“It is.” Shou nodded. “Are you going to go see her?”

“Maybe I should…” Byakuren glanced down the stairs, the jizou statue had a new shawl wrapped around its shoulders. The shawl was a light orange one that Ichirin had knitted herself.

Shou nodded.

“Well, I guess it’s best to not keep her waiting. She does have a bit of a temper…” Shou said.

Byakuren wrapped her kesa around her as a light breeze blew against her body. The prayer beads around her neck clacked together.

“I’ll be back soon, I hope.” She gave Shou a little bow and took to the air. Shou bowed back.

 

* * *

 

The Hakurei Shrine was all the way across town, and then some.

It took her quite a while to get there even by flight, but she soon found herself facing the tall red beams and steep stairway that lead up to the front door.

She made her way up these stairs and knocked.

There were voices coming from somewhere within the shrine. They sounded like they were outside, probably behind the shrine on the back porch or somewhere around there. Byakuren knew Reimu liked to entertain her guests there, had a lovely view, but still kept the front of the shrine free from loiterers.

She could recognize Reimu’s voice as well as two more. One, she hadn’t heard before. It was quiet and high pitched. The other, sounded awfully familiar. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but she recalled hearing it before.

She knocked again, and heard Reimu’s voice say something about a guest.

A few moments later, Reimu opened the door.

Byakuren gave a smile and small bow.

“Hello, Hakure-...i..” Byakuren lifted her head from the bow and was startled by Reimu’s expression.

Reimu’s eyes were wide, her mouth was open slightly, and her brow was knitted together tightly. She gaped at Byakuren. Byakuren could not tell if she was startled or angry.

“Is this a bad time-”

“What the hell are you trying to pull!?” Reimu cut her off. She ran a hand through her hair. “Why do things like this always happen to me?” Reimu groaned.

Byakuren blinked.

“Ah… oh?” She frowned.

Reimu groaned again.

“Get in here.” Reimu grabbed Byakuren’s arm firmly and yanked her inside. Byakuren yelped.

Reimu tugged Byakuren to the back garden, gripping her arm painfully firmly the entire way.

Reimu slid open the back door and stepped through it with Byakuren in tow.

Byakuren had been on the back porch a few times. It was small and wooden. The forest behind the shrine was scorched and cleared out for a few hundred feet. Byakuren knew this was where Reimu and her friends sparred for practice. There was a particularly large black burn scar that tore up a good 300 feet or so. Byakuren had a feeling this was Kirisame’s doing. On the porch itself, there was an old white tea set. A sweet perfumed fragrance was coming from it, Byakuren recognized this as the raspberry tea that was so popular in town right now. Sitting around the tea set were two people.

One was an extremely small girl with a purple hime cut. She was dressed in a long blue and white kimono and was using a thimble as a teacup.

Most peculiar to Byakuren, was that there was a second Byakuren sitting just beside the small girl.

This Byakuren was dressed exactly the same as Byakuren was, but the bun on top of her head was slightly too messy, and the prayer beads around her neck were more blue than teal. She gaped up at Byakuren.

“Explain yourselves.” Reimu said flatly. Byakuren had almost forgotten she was there, she was so taken aback by the look alike.

Byakuren’s doppelganger's mouth opened and closed several times, her eyes blinked.

“Um…”

“Hm…” Byakuren wrung her hands together. “Excuse me… um… who are you?”

“Me…? I’m Byakuren Hijiri, who are you?” The other Byakuren said back.

Reimu grunted and slammed the door shut. Everyone jumped.

“If I don’t hear which one of you is the fraud in five seconds, I’m gonna kick both of your asses.”

“Ugh… Great..” Byakuren’s doppelganger groaned, but in a different voice than before. The voice that came out was low and raspy. She looked up at Byakuren and Reimu, and her eyes changed to brown. “Why’d you have to show up now?”

There was a sudden pop and a thick puff of smoke suddenly surrounded the look alike. It dissipated just as quickly, and Mamizou was sitting in the doppelganger’s place wearing the exact same outfit

She squinted up at Reimu and Byakuren.

“Well, that fell through.” She sighed and reached in her sleeve and pulled out her familiar round glasses. She put them on and grunted.

“Explain yourselves.” Reimu sighed. She was glaring down at Mamizou.

Mamizou sighed again and nodded.

“Yeah, yeah…” She started fishing in her sleeve again, and this time pulled out a long pipe. She snapped and lit the tip, and placed it in her mouth. “Geez…” She looked up at Byakuren a little disappointed. “Well, ya caught me.”

“I want answers.” Reimu said as she had a seat across from her.

Byakuren followed and sat next to Reimu.

“Well, I was just lookin’ out for her.” Mamizou sighed. She took a long drag, then blew two puffs of smoke out from her nose. The smoke was purple tinted and smelled heavily like tobacco and berries. “Byakuren prides herself on honesty and all that.” She waved it off. A cloud of smoke wafted over to the small purple haired girl. She coughed and covered her nose.

“Wait, I’m confused.” Byakuren said.

Mamizou glanced over at her.

“Shou took Kyouko into town with her this morning.”

“Oh…”

“Kyouko told her good pal Chen about that little feisty friend you made. Guess that traveled up the grapevine, and Reimu caught word of it.”

“So you lied to me! You really do know where that thief is!” Reimu leaned forward and slammed her fist on the wooden floor. The small girl was jostled with the small earthquake it created.

“Mmm…” Mamizou shrugged and closed her eyes. She tilted her head back and blew out some more smoke, this time into the sky. It swirled above her head.

Reimu gritted her teeth.

“I oughta make a nice fur coat out of that tail of yours.”

“Mmm… you’re taking this too personally.” Mamizou took the pipe out from between her lips and leaned forward a bit. “No need to get so bent out of shape about it.”

“I take being lied to to my face very seriously.” Reimu turned to Byakuren. “Where is she?”

“Oh-” Byakuren blinked.

“Don’t gotta tell her anything, Hijiri.” Mamizou nodded.

“Oh, yes you do! She’s a wanted criminal!” Reimu punched the ground again.

Mamizou tsked Reimu.

“You’re only pursuing her because she personally wronged you and your little friend here.” Mamizou nodded towards the small girl. The girl took a long sip out of her thimble.

“I’m pursuing her because she’s a menace! She’s going to end up killing somebody.”

“Now, now, she’s been quiet the past few days, right? Haven’t heard any word from her, right? That ain’t seem like much of a menace to me.” Mamizou took another drag of her pipe.

“Just because it’s quiet in the eye of the storm doesn’t mean the rain has passed.” Reimu grunted.

“Ah, poetry, beautiful.” Mamizou puffed more smoke out of her nose.

“A few days of peace doesn’t guarantee anything.”

“It’s better than nothing, right? Listen, Reimu.” Mamizou leaned forward more, inches from Reimu’s face. “Ain’t you always complaining that you’ve gotta deal with this kinda thing? Huh? Just let the good ol’ Myouren Temple handle it for once.”

“Absolutely not. If Hijiri is blind enough to take in you and your little chimera friend, she obviously doesn’t know how to handle troublemakers.”

“Ah, it’s actually quite contrary to that. Didn’t she do such a good job on us, huh? Ain’t she just the one to take that little amanojaku and turn her around? When’s the last time you heard about me or Nue causin’ any trouble?”

“Last week when Nue threw up in the fountain on Niji Street.” Reimu said flatly.

“She did what?” Byakuren gasped put her hand over her mouth. Mamizou hushed her.

“I mean, any old joe could do something like that. We’re at least not as bad as Kirisame. She nearly caused a civil war up in the Tengu Village flying around on that magic carpet she got.” Mamizou shrugged.

“I’ve since destroyed that.” Reimu said flatly.

“See! But Kirisame is your trouble, that amanojaku is our trouble. Come on, Hakurei, let it go.”

“I will not.” Reimu folded her arms.

“Um, excuse me?” The small girl beside Mamizou spoke up for the first time.

“Yes, Shin?” Reimu looked down at her.

“Well, I mean, maybe the tanuki is right?” Shin looked over at Mamizou. “I mean, if things don’t work out with whatever they’re going to try to do with her, you could always step in then.”

“Shin…” Reimu sighed.

“Plus, I don’t really want to have to see what happens with her. I don’t want to know…” She lowered her head a bit.

Reimu was silent. She looked down at the small girl and sighed.

“Shin, come on…”

“I don’t want to see her again. If you capture her you’ll drag her right back into the shrine, won’t you? You know how I feel about her!” Shin folded her arms.

Reimu grumbled and nodded her head.

There was a long moment of silence. Reimu and Shin locked eyes with each other. Reimu was gnawing at the inside of her cheek. Shin stared flatly back.

Mamizou took a drag from her pipe, and turned her head away from the group to blow out another cloud of smoke.

“Fine…” Reimu sighed. She put her face in her hands. “Fine, fine. But if anything goes wrong, I’m going to be scratching the paint off your front door.”

Mamizou grinned widely, her fangs flashed.

“Thadda girl, Reimu.” Mamizou nodded, and one of her ears twitched.

Reimu turned to Byakuren. “She’s your responsibility now. I’m going to hold you directly responsible for what she does.”

“I understand.” Byakuren nodded.

Reimu sighed again and poured herself another cup of tea.

“Now, both of you get out of here. That smoke is giving me a headache.”

 

* * *

 

The remainder of the day passed uneventful.

Byakuren held a sermon that was well enough received. A few humans attended, as well as the temple’s regulars. At one point, Nue even stopped by the door to listen for a few minutes.

After this, was dinner. It wasn’t much, they were running decently low on food, Byakuren noted that a trip to the market would need to happen soon.

Byakuren had taken a bento box out to Seija as was the new usual, but Seija was nowhere in sight.

The night was cold. Temperatures had dropped more than Byakuren expected. She noted that her cape was still on the pile of leaves. That brought her a little comfort, but not much.

The clouds that had once been far off in the distance were nearly here now. Byakuren wondered if it would snow. She pushed down this thought, and made her way back to the temple.

Along the way home, she could have sworn she saw a snowflake or two, but they were too small and it was too dark to tell for sure.

Her stomach twisted.

When she reached the temple, she was met by the warm air inside. It smelled faintly of firewood. Earlier that day, she knew Murasa had lit the heater. Once started, it would keep the temple heated comfortably till spring.

A little ways in the temple, she heard Nue and Mamizou laughing about something. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what it was.

She made her way into the temple, Kyouko rounded the corner and ran face first into her stomach. Byakuren took a step back to steady herself.

“Oh, you startled me!” Byakuren chuckled and patted Kyouko’s head.

Kyouko looked up at her and beamed.

“Welcome back!”

“Thank you.” Byakuren smiled down at her.

The door opened again behind Byakuren, and Murasa stepped in.

Murasa was dressed in a dark navy jinbei. She had a long black western style coat on, and her hair was tied back in a lazy ponytail. Her long nose was red, but the rest of her face was pale. She gave Byakuren and Kyouko a smile.

Kyouko dashed over to her and buried her face in Murasa’s stomach as well. Murasa let out a hearty laugh and patted her head.

“Hey there.”

“Unzan told me to tell you that he found your hat.” Kyouko said looking up at Murasa. Murasa beamed.

“Aw, great! Where was it?”

“In Ichirin’s room.” Kyouko said.

Murasa’s face gained a bit more color back. Her smile turned sheepish.

“Oh, really?” She scratched the back of her head. “I wonder how it got in there..”

“Unzan said you left it there last n-” Kyouko’s sentence was cut off as Murasa

pulled her into a hug and reburied Kyouko’s face in her stomach.

“Great! Great! Go and fetch it for me!” Murasa said to Kyouko. She glanced shyly

up at Byakuren. Byakuren offered her a small shy smile back.

“Fine.” Kyouko huffed and pulled herself away from Murasa. She trotted off down the hallway, giving Byakuren a little bow along the way.

Byakuren bowed back, then turned to Murasa. Murasa laughed nervously.

“That thing always gets lost…”

“Mm…” Byakuren chuckled. “Come in out of the doorway, child. I’ll make tea.”

Murasa grinned and followed Byakuren into the sitting room.

Byakuren left to put a kettle on the stove then returned, and had a seat next to Murasa and settled in. Murasa had taken off her coat and lazily discarded it on the table. She sat with her hands in her lap quietly.

“Sure is cold out there.” Murasa said after a moment. The color in her cheeks still hadn’t quite faded.

“Mm… yes.” Byakuren nodded. “What were you doing out there anyway?”

“Oh, we didn’t really restock on the firewood last winter so we were kinda shy on it. I went to go get some more.”

“Ah, thank you.” Byakuren smiled.

“No problem,” Murasa waved it off. She turned her body to face Byakuren. “I heard what Mamizou tried to pull today.” She chortled.

“Yes…” Byakuren sighed. “She was trying to help, I suppose.”

“Probably shoulda warned you to stay away from the shine, though.” Murasa chortled some more. Her shoulder shook with the movement, her hair was jostled out of the ponytail. It fell down to her shoulders.

Murasa noticed and reached back into her hair.

“Aw, dangit.”

“Hm?”

“I can never tie this ribbon tight enough.” She shook her head and held up a thin black ribbon that had been in her hair. “It’s gettin’ too long, so I have to pull it back. But I’m no good at tying a knot behind the back of my head…”

“Mm.. want me to tie it for you?” Byakuren offered.

“It’s ok. I’m not really working anymore so it doesn’t have to be kept up. Hey, you should cut it for me soon, though.” Murasa ran a hand through the back of her hair. Her black locks tangled in her fingers. She made a face.

Byakuren chuckled a little.

“I will. It’s been so long since I’ve cut it.” Byakuren said.

“I always forget to ask you.” Murasa nodded and yawned.

The door opened, and Kyouko stepped into the room. She had Murasa’s white crush cap in her hand.

“Thanks, Kyouko.” Murasa said as Kyouko handed it to her. Kyouko nodded, and had a seat beside her.

The kettle started whistling, and Byakuren got up to take it off the heat. She returned with three cups, and placed them onto the table. Kyouko and Murasa mumbled words of thanks.

Kyouko downed the cup in one swig, turned to Murasa.

Murasa had her cup to her lips, she glanced at Kyouko curiously.

“What did Unzan mean when he told me to remind you to put a sock on the doorknob next time?” Kyouko tilted her head.

Murasa sputtered. Hot tea sprayed in her face. She winced and started coughing hard. Her blush had spread to her ears.

Byakuren patted her on the back.

It took a few long moments for the coughing fit to pass. Murasa panted heavily, shoulders rising and falling with each long breath.

“Are you ok?” Byakuren glanced around for napkins.

Murasa waved it off.

“Y-yeah, just, uh, a tickle in my throat…” She glanced over towards Byakuren.

Byakuren frowned back, concerned.

Murasa dropped her gaze.

“Uh, yeah, but anyway…” She glanced over at Kyouko. Kyouko just looked confused. “Unzan’s just, uh, you know, talking in riddles like he always does. I don’t really know what he means.” Murasa hunched up her shoulders nervously. Her cheeks darkened even more.

Kyouko nodded slowly.

“Oh, ok.” She shrugged.

“Uh…” Murasa took a long sip of her tea. “So, uh, how did your trip in the woods go?” Murasa asked, apparently trying to change the topic.

“Ah… As usual…” Byakuren frowned.

Kyouko blinked.

“What’s happening with that anyway?”

“I’m trying to befriend Seija. You know, that girl I carried in a few days ago.” Byakuren said.

“Oh…” Kyouko frowned.

“Oh, don’t be worried. She only said those cruel things to you because she was frightened.” Byakuen said, “I was too forward with her and she was just trying to push back in anyway she could… it was my own fault. I hope you don’t blame her.”

“Oh, she was lying?” Kyouko blinked. “Oh, ok.”

“Yes, I expect she does that quite a lot.” Byakuren nodded.

Next to her, Murasa snorted.

“You sure have your work cut out for you, don’t you?” She propped her elbow up on the table and balanced her chin on her hand. “You like taking on lost causes, don’t you?” Murasa gave her a gentle smile.

Byakuren smiled back, and put her hand on Murasa’s shoulder.

“Now, I wouldn’t say lost causes.”

Murasa chuckled and gave her a wink.

Byakuren giggled back.

“What are you two laughing about?” Kyouko frowned.

“Inside joke, Kyouko.” Murasa turned to her and ruffled her hair. Kyouko grumbled.

“So, is she going to stay with us?” Murasa turned back to Byakuren.

“Ah, hopefully… if I can persuade her to…”

“Eh, not in my room she won’t.” Murasa frowned.

“Mine neither!” Kyouko’s volume increased. The cups on the tables rattled.

“Ah, I think she would be better in her own room anyway… At least for the time being.” Byakuren said.

“Which room? All the good ones are taken… And please don’t make me move in with Nue. She always brings back girls!”

“Ooooo!” Kyouko hooted. She giggled and put her hand over her mouth.

“No, actually, I was thinking about maybe cleaning out that room next to Nue’s instead. They would be the sharing a bathroom, but I think it’s as big as the other rooms…”

“You want Nue to share a bathroom with an amanojaku? Nue has problem sharing her bathroom with her own reflection.” Murasa snorted.

“Well, Nue isn’t always in the temple, so I feel like that lessens the problem a bit…” Byakuren said slowly. She took her teacup in her hand and ran her thumb over the lip of it.

“Well, if it doesn’t work out, I don’t wanna share a room with her. I’m a light sleeper.” Murasa shrugged.

“She scares me, so I don’t want to either.” Kyouko said, pouting a bit. “Oh! Murasa, let’s share a room!”

“No way, kid! I just said I’m a light sleeper!”

“I’m not loud!”

Murasa cackled and slapped her leg. Kyouko pouted more.

“Hm, well, if it doesn’t work out, that’s a problem for another day, don’t you agree?” Byakuren said. She took a sip of her tea. “But, it is getting rather cold out, a temporary set up in that room should do.”

“Oh, you know, I’m not busy. I can help you clean it out now, if you want!” Murasa grinned.

“Really? That would be great!” Byakuren grinned back.

“I already sweeped today, so don’t make me do any more chores.” Kyouko said sullenly.

“I won’t.” Byakuren chuckled.

“Good.” Kyouko got to her feet. “And tell that amanojaku to stay away from my guitar. If breaks it she’s gotta buy me a new one!”

“Of course,” Byakuren chuckled some more.

Kyouko nodded, apparently satisfied, and left the room.

Musasa got to her feet as well, and offered a hand to Byakuren.

“Well, let’s get started now before it gets too late.”

“Mm…” Byakuren nodded and took it. She got to her feet.

 

* * *

 

Cleaning out the room didn’t take long with both Murasa and Byakuren at work, but it was tiring.

Before long, the room was emptied of clutter. The floor was mopped, and the window was cracked to let in a little fresh air.

Previously, the room had been used to store barrels of things that had been necessary to sail the Palanquin, but since the ship had been grounded and renovated into the back half of the temple, it wasn’t really needed now.

Byakuren and Murasa moved the clutter aside, into another storage room. It took a bit of pushing and shoving, but with Byakuren’s strength, they were able to squish it all in.

What was left was a bare room, save for a futon, comforter, lamp, dresser, and hamper. The newly mopped floor shined and reflected the lamp light slightly. Byakuren and Murasa’s voices echoed off the bare walls.

Once it was finished, Byakuren had gone back to her own room, and fell fast asleep.

Her sleep was dotted with incoherent dreams.

Something about Reimu being a tanuki, something about Nue on a magic carpet…

She was suddenly awake. Someone was shaking her shoulder.

“Mmmgh…” Byakuren groaned and peeked her sleep filled eyes open. Her hair was a mess, her grey robe was shook off her shoulder.

She squinted, trying to see through the sleepy haze her head was in.

Nazrin was kneeling next to her futon. She was dressed in blue flannel pajamas, and her hair was a mess. Her large ears were flattened down against her hair.

“Nazrin…?” Byakuren frowned and propped herself up on her elbow.

Nazrin’s brow was knitted together, she shushed her.

“I think someone broke in…”

“What?” Byakuren’s head cleared a little.

Nazrin was tugging at Byakuren’s arm.

Byakuren groggily was pulled out of bed. Nazrin got to her feet and tugged Byakuren out of her room and down the hallway. Their footsteps against the wooden floor echoed throughout the temple.

Nazrin lead her down the hall her and Shou’s room was located in. She lead to a doorway at the end of it, and stopped.

Behind this door was the laundry room. Byakuren was awake enough to register that.

Nazrin pointed at the door and hissed, “Listen.” She lifted one large mouse ear and placed it against the wood.

Byakuren leaned forward and put her own ear to the door.

She listened, straining her ear to hear. She could just barely hear faint breathing coming from the other side.

Nazrin looked up at her expectantly. Her large red eyes shone in the dim light.

Byakuren nodded slowly and placed a finger to her own lips. Nazrin nodded.

Byakuren placed her hand on Nazrin’s shoulder and moved the girl away from the door.

Byakuren held her breath, and ever so slowly, cracked the door open.

Inside, the laundry room wasn’t anything special. There were extra poles for the clothes lines disassembled and tucked against one wall. A sturdy washer tub was against the wall adjacent from the rods. Next to it, was a big white hamper nearly filled to the top. There was a small window that allowed some light from the outside to pool in. Outside on the windowsill, there was about a half of inch of white snow.

The dull light the window cast in landed on a sizable pile of clothes Byakuren didn’t remember being there just a few hours ago.

Byakuren squinted at the pile, and felt her stomach leap.

Nuzzled up, nearly hidden by one of Mamizou’s robes, was a figure. Byakuren could make out dark splotched hair flared out over what looked like Kyouko’s Choujuu Gigaku’s shirt.

Byakuren blinked. She drew in a much needed breath, and opened the door open a little more. The door let out a loud whining creak.

Seija shot up from the pile of clothes.

Byakuren placed her hands up and took a step back, nearly bumping into Nazrin.

Seija locked eyes with her for a fraction of a second, then bolted over to the small window, threw it open, and disappeared through it.

Byakuren rushed over to the window to peer out, but all she saw was footsteps in the freshly fallen snow.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter's a little longer than the past two, this things really getting long ( longer than expected ) so, maybe this is the halfway point? I think I'm going to break 50k and going to go into like 60k or something, so this'll probably continue on until maybe a week or two into December depending on how everything progresses  
> But! Thanks for sticking through this long if you did! It really means a lot to me. Like I said before, this is my first NaNoWriMo that I'm publishing so any positive response at all like really makes my day so thank you ;; ;;  
> The usual shout outs to Purvis, Chris, Aaron, Toad, Noe and you [ winksx2 ]  
> Thanks again!


	4. Part 4

Mornings in the Myouren Temple are fairly routine.

This, however was not a routine morning.

After Seija had disappeared out the window, Byakuren had refrained from chasing after her.

Instead, she dragged her own futon into the laundry room, in the unlikely event of Seija returning.

Byakuren had spent the night sleeping in a pile of bundled up blankets, which didn’t exactly help with her still slightly sore back.

She woke just a bit earlier than usual, stiff and sore from the long night on the floor.

She could see sky's blue light through her window. Soon it would be dawn. A few birds were chirping outside.

She laid on her side for a few minutes, relaxing and looking up at the dull cerulean sky.

The heater was going at full blast now, she could smell the scent firewood hanging in the air.

The sound of windchimes carried over from the front of the temple. Their wooden clanks traveled far in the frigid air.

With a yawn, Byakuren sat up. She tied her hair up in a loose bun, folded away her makeshift bed, and made her way to the kitchen to start on breakfast.

This morning was particularly quiet. Even from here, she could hear the wind chimes.

As she got to work washing and chopping vegetables and fruit, she looked out the long window against the wall.

At least four inches of snow were on the ground. There was a small gust of wind, and a few snowflakes blew down off the temple’s roof, and fell to the ground.

As the sun rose, it’s light danced and glittered on the snow.

She put the food on the heat, and started up a kettle.

By now, the temple was waking. She could hear Kyouko’s yawning and grumbling. A few minutes later, Kyouko appeared in the kitchen, sleepy eyed and dressed in a long white night shirt and boxers.

“Hey…” She gave Byakuren a lazy little wave, opened the icebox, and poured herself a glass of milk. She yawned and Byakuren had to steady the frying pan on the stove as it rattled.

“Good morning.” Byakuren patted her on the head.

Kyouko took a long sip of her milk, and distractedly patted her hand away. She disappeared out of the kitchen as she made her way back into the dining room.

Before long, the voices of the other temple’s residents carried in.

Byakuren listened as she cooked.

Murasa was complaining about having to shovel the stairs. Ichirin was pestering Unzan about something.

Byakuren flipped an egg.

Shou was saying something about how she had lost her favorite blanket. Nazrin was scolding her.

Nue’s voice carried in.

Byakuren was surprised she had stayed at the temple another night.

Nue kept shushing Kyouko, saying she had a headache. Mamizou’s voice could be heard too. Mamizou was picking fun at Nue’s bed head.

The kettle whistled, and Byakuren began pouring cups of tea.

She was on her third one, when she felt a pair of arms snake around her waist.

She tensed, the green tea in the cup sloshed against a side of the porcelain.

Byakuren looked down, and saw the top of Kyouko’s head. The small girl had buried her face in Byakuren’s side. Byakuren placed the kettle and cup down and patted the top of her head.

“What’s wrong? Was Nue too mean to you?” Byakuren asked. She realized her voice was louder than she intended.

The voices in the other room had stopped.

Byakuren turned, and glanced out the door into the dining room. From where she was standing, she could see the backs of Shou and Nazrin, across the table from them, she could see Murasa and the side of Nue’s face. They were all looking rightwards down the table. Byakuren could not see any more from here.

Byakuren made her way over to the doorway, which was a bit of an effort with Kyouko still clinging onto her, and peered out the door.

There, sitting at the end of the table was Seija.

Seija had both her arms and legs folded. Her head was cocked to the side, and she was apparently staring very intently at something on the wall. Her dress and face were still filthy, but Byakuren could almost swear that underneath that dirt on her face, she could see the faintest tint of a blush.

Byakuren blinked.

Everyone was silent.

Seija was very focused on that spot on the wall.

“Oh.” Byakuren blinked. Everyone, save Seija, looked over at her. “Oh, hello there.” Byakuren smiled. “I didn’t hear you come in. I’ll set up a plate for you. Do you want tea, or maybe something different?”

Everyone glanced back over at Seija. Seija didn’t move an inch. Oh, wait no, she blinked.

Byakuren waited.

“Ah, so tea is ok then?” Byakuren wrung her hands together.

No response.

“Well… ah, I’ll get you a glass of water as well then.” Byakuren grinned.

That spot on the wall must be very interesting. Seija kept quiet.

Byakuren waited a moment, then turned back into the kitchen, Kyouko still at her hip.

She heard the conversation in the other room slowly pick up again.

Murasa seemed to be doing most of the talking. She really wasn’t looking forward to shoveling those stairs.

Byakuren started plating the meal. She poured out small bowls of vegetable soup, plated some eggs, rice, and fruit,  and finished pouring the tea.

Once she was finished, she dusted off her hands and lightly placed her hand on Kyouko’s shoulder.

“Can you help me carry the food out?” Byakuren asked softly.

Kyouko looked up at her. She was pouting. Her brown ears were sunken sadly down against the top of her head. She hesitated for a long moment, then nodded. Byakuren smiled and took her hand off her shoulder.

“Thank you.”

“Yeah…” Kyouko sighed and grabbed a few plates.

Byakuren did as well, they headed out into the other room.

Kyouko steered clear of Seija’s end of the table, she headed straight for Unzan directly opposite of her.

Byakuren inversely started at Seija’s end and worked her way towards the middle.

After a few trips, everyone had their meal in front of them.

Kyouko squeezed herself down between Mamizou and Nue. She settled down, and started on her meal. Every few minutes, she would glance nervously in Seija’s direction.

Byakuren had a seat perpendicular to Seija at the very end. She offered Seija a smile, but Seija was now concentrating very hard on keeping her eyes on her food. She started shoveling it down.

The conversation was admittedly not what it usually was. It was tense and quiet aside from Murasa who was now going on about how she couldn’t remember what she had dreamed about last night.

Seija kept to herself. She downed the water in a few big gulps, and had already drank half of her tea. She started slurping on her soup.

From across the table, Nue gave Seija a very dirty look.

Byakuren brought her cup to her lip so Nue wouldn’t see her frown.

Murasa kept talking, but it seemed most had stopped listening by now. Everyone kept shooting glances at Seija.

“But, I think it involved some kind of dog, you know. I bet it was because I saw one on my way back last night. But I just can’t shake the feeling that it was pretty weird. Does that ever happen to you?” Murasa shrugged and waggled her spoon around. “I dunno, I think the dog might have been a sentry, oh, the one in my dream I mean, not the one I saw on my way ho-”

Seija set her chopsticks down with a smack. Her plate was cleaned. She downed the rest of her tea in one swig and got to her feet.

“Oh, uh-” Byakuren began, but Seija had already hurried away from the table.

Curiously, Seija didn’t make her way to the front of the temple. Instead, she rushed off in the direction of the laundry room again.

Everyone watched her as she left.

There was a long moment of silence.

“Coulda at least put her dishes away.” Nue grumbled and folded her arms.

 

* * *

 

After breakfast was finished, Byakuren made her way over to the laundry room door.

It was closed. She hesitated in front of it.

She listened, but could hear no noise. She brought her knuckles up, and knocked on the door.

No response.

Byakuren frowned and knocked again a little harder.

“Um, hello?” She called.

Nothing.

Byakuren pressed her ear up against the door, but still could not hear anything.

“I’m coming in…” Byakuren said as she brought her hand to the door knob.

She tried to turn it, but it was locked. That was strange, this door didn’t even have a lock.

She tried to turn the knob a little harder, with a little effort it turned in her hand. Something from the other side of the door fell to the ground with a clank.

Byakuren slowly creaked the door open, and saw Seija wasn’t inside, but had apparently propped one of the disassembled clothesline poles up against the door in attempt to keep people out.

Byakuren frowned.

Someone sighed from just behind her. She jumped and spun around to see Nue standing there, arms folded and frowning.

“She’s staying in there?” Nue raised an eyebrow.

“Well, I haven’t exactly showed her to her room yet…” Byakuren gave her a small smile, and closed the laundry room door.

Nue watched her as she did so silently.

“You’re really going to let that jerk live with us?”

“Nue…” Byakuren frowned.

Nue pouted and furrowed her brow.

“Geez…”

“Do you have a problem with her staying with us?”

“Yes!” Nue threw her arms up. Her wings spread out behind her. Nue flashed her teeth at Byakuren. “You know, if you remember, she almost kinda killed you!” Nue’s voice echoed off the hallway walls.

“Nue, yes I recall, but-”

“But, nothing!” Nue clenched her fists.

“Nue.” Byakuren took a step closer to her.

“You- you- big-” Nue punched the air, “Ugh, She pisses me off so much!”

Byakuren took another step forward, and put a hand on Nue’s shoulder.

“Nue, I never apologized for scaring you that night, did I?”

“No, you didn’t.” Nue shrugged Byakuren’s hand off.

“I’m sorry. And I’m sorry it took me so long to apologize.” Byakuren frowned. Nue looked up at her. Her red eyes glinted.

“Yeah, yeah.” She huffed.

Byakuren placed her hand on Nue’s shoulder again and gave it a little squeeze.

Nue pouted. Byakuren smiled back.

“I understand, you’re uncomfortable with the idea of-”

“With your entire stupid mindset about this.” Nue refolded her arms, but didn’t shrug Byakuren’s hand off.

“And I understand you’re angry with me.”

“Furious.”

Byakuren frowned and rubbed her thumb along Nue’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” She hunched over a little so she was about eye level with Nue. Nue looked up at her.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I understand my actions were reckless, just the thing I promised you they wouldn’t be. I’m-

“You should be!” Nue roared. Byakuren winced.

Nue continued to glare up at her.

“I really am sorry, Nue.” Byakuren frowned.

Nue let out a long aggravated sigh and shook her head.

“Yeah…” Nue looked at Byakuren’s hand on her shoulder as if she were debating shrugging it off again, but apparently decided against it.

Byakuren took a step closer, and wrapped her arms around Nue.

Nue let out a noise that sounded like a growl, but didn’t push away.

Byakuren brought a hand up to Nue’s back and patted it.

Nue sighed and begrudgingly wrapped her arms around Byakuren’s waist. She gave her a brief squeeze, then pulled away.

Byakuren let out a little chuckle and rested her hands on Nue’s shoulders.

Nue looked up at her, eyes not as fierce as they had been just a few moments ago.

Byakuren smiled warmly down at her. She leaned down, and placed a small kiss on Nue’s forehead.

Nue squaked and took a step back, clutching her forehead and sporting a very prominent blush.

“H-hey! Gross!” Nue rubbed at her forehead with the palm of one hand

Byakuren giggled and shook her head.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Gross!! I’m not just some kid you can do that to!!” Nue rubbed her forehead harder.

“I’m sorry… But, Nue…” Byakuren’s eyes twinkled with laughter.

“What?”

“They say if you try to rub it off, you’re only rubbing it in.”

“GROSS!” Nue sputtered and spun around on her heels. “I can’t believe you just did that!” She stormed off back down the hallway, her wings drooped abashedly behind her, they swung a little with her steps.

“I love you!” Byakuren called after her.

Nue grumbled, but didn’t respond more than that.

 

* * *

 

The remainder of the day passed with a strange mood hanging in the temple.

Surprisingly, despite all the snow, there were quite a few visitors today. Byakuren and the rest of the temple were kept busy attending to them.

Still though, whenever there was a lull in activity, Byakuren found her mind wandering back to this mornings breakfast and Seija.

Byakuren realized she hadn’t seen Seija sit down at the table this morning, so she couldn’t tell if Seija had come from the direction of the front door or the laundry room. But, if she had come from inside the temple, that meant that she had come back in after Byakuren had scared her away last night. So, that would be a good sign.

Around 1pm, the crowds died down to a few stragglers that were effectively handled by Unzan and Ichirin.

Murasa had made great progress with the steps, they were now completely shoveled, but needed to be salted.

Murasa had trudged up the steps, face pink from exhaustion. The tips of her hair were beginning to turn a threatening shade of green. She gave Byakuren a tired grin and wave as she got to the top.

“Hey…” Murasa’s voice came out with the strange echoing effect that happened when her physical body was starting to fade away.

Byakuren frowned and beckoned her over.

“Come inside with me. You need a break.” Byakuren said as Murasa approached.

Murasa gave her trademark toothy grin.

“Well, you don’t have to ask me twice.” Murasa shrugged and headed in through the front door with Byakuren.

Kyouko’s bounding footsteps approached. She rounded the corner and practically tackled Byakuren.

Byakuren had to take a step back to steady herself.

Kyouko gave her a firm squeeze, then turned to Murasa. She leapt forward, arms outstretched, but ran clean through Murasa, and slammed her body into the door behind her.

Murasa’s coat fluttered with the movement, she turned around, surprised.

“Oh, sorry, Kyouko…” Murasa put her hands up.

Kyouko turned around pouting. Her left cheek was very red from where it had hit the wood.

“You should’ve warned me!” Kyouko exclaimed. The windows rattled.

“Sorry, sorry…” Murasa frowned.

Kyouko huffed and turned to leave with her tail down.

Both Murasa and Byakuren watched her silently as she disappeared down the hall.

“Guess I’m more beat than I thought…” Murasa said quietly. She shrugged and took off her coat and boots. Byakuren did the same.

“Well, I’ll get you some water and I think we still have some of that soup left over from this morning. That’ll give you some energy.” Byakuren said with a small smile.

Murasa grinned back.

“Yeah, I worked up a sweat.”

Byakuren and Murasa made their way into the sitting room.

Murasa had a seat at the end of the table with a sigh of relief, while Byakuren made her way into the kitchen.

When she entered, she was surprised to see someone was standing, hunched over and looking into the ice box. Byakuren could see only the top half of a black haired head. She smiled and moved over to the cabinet to get a cup out.

“Hello Nue, dear. Are you still upset with me about this morning?” Byakuren asked distractedly as she filled the glass up with water.

The person standing in the icebox stood up fully.

Byakuren glanced over, and was surprised to see not Nue, but Seija standing there.

Seija was looking at her, just as startled. She had one of Nazrin’s mocha biscuit sticks between her lips. She gaped at Byakuren, eyes wide.

“Oh, hello there.” Byakuren blinked. “I thought you were Nue.” Her lips stretched into a grin. “My mistake. Are you hungry?”

Seija turned abruptly to leave, but Byakuren took a step towards the door, and she froze again.

“Oh, wait, wait, you don’t have to go running off!” Byakuren said. Her smile faltered for a second. “I was about to warm up some soup if you would like a bowl as well…”

Seija eyed her suspiciously for a long moment.

A tense silence filled the room.

It was broken with a _crunch_ as Seija bit down into the biscuit between her teeth. She nodded slowly.

“I’ll know if you spit in it. So don’t try it.” Seija said as she turned and exited the room.

From the doorway, Byakuren watched her have a seat a few spaces down from Murasa.

Murasa had buried her face in her arms and slouched down over the table

Byakuren might have thought she was asleep if she didn’t know Murasa had particularly a bad habit of snoring.

Seija had her eyes on Murasa, she watched her curiously as the green in the captain’s tips started spreading further up her locks.

Byakuren smiled gently, and turned to get to work reheating the soup.

It didn’t take long. It was just a process of getting it back to a boil, which admittedly was a bit of a hassle with the old stove.

But, before long, Byakuren poured two bowls of soup and cups of water, and took them out to the two sitting at the table.

Murasa sat up when Byakuren placed the bowl down in front of her. She blinked down at it, then brought her gaze over to Seija. She looked startled, as if she didn’t know she had been there.

Seija, on the other hand, just brought her gaze directly towards the soup in front of her. She started gulping it down, only pausing to breathe.

Byakuren had a seat between the two girls, and smiled happily to herself.

Every few moments, Murasa would glance over at Seija curiously, then bring her eyes over to Byakuren.

Byakuren smiled back at her.

Murasa shrugged. She had apparently accepted the situation.

“Well, anyway, I don’t know how all those humans could have bothered to show up in all that snow. It’s not like they could fly either. I bet all their feet were soaked. I mean, I pride myself on being dedicated to this temple, but still, if I was in their shoes, I’m not sure if I would have bothered to come today. Really, I mean, at least wait till it’s all cleared…” Murasa said with another shrug.

Before Byakuren could respond, Seija placed her bowl down on the table. It was empty. She got to her feet to begin hurrying away, but Byakuren was quicker than her, got to her feet, and took a step to block her way before she got far.

“Wait, wait, dear child.” Byakuren wrung her hands together. “I was wondering if I could maybe have a word with you…”

Seija attempted to sidestep her, but Byakuren took a step in that direction as well.

“I just wanted to… well, we cleaned out a room for you if you’d like to stay here…” Byakuren said slowly.

Seija blinked. Her brow furrowed at Byakuren’s words.

“That is… only if you would like to… You don’t have to make your decision now… But, well, the room that we’ve prepared is significantly bigger than.. well…” Byakuren could feel Murasa watching her.

Seija blinked and glanced to the side. She chewed on her bottom lip. Her sharp teeth dug into her skin. Her red eyes rested on the floor. She took in a deep breath, then glanced up at Byakuren through her black lashes.

“If it’ll keep you from yapping at me, geez…” Seija sighed and folded her arms.

Byakuren beamed.

“Fantastic! Right this way!” Byakuren turned and began heading in the opposite direction out of the kitchen.

To her surprise, Seija actually followed.

Byakuren grinned to herself as she listened to Seija’s footsteps trailing behind her.

“Would you like to see the rest of the temple as well, my child?” Byakuren asked over her shoulder.

Seija glanced up at her, and shrugged. Byakuren grinned wider.

“Well, let’s do that then. Ok?” Byakuren headed down a hallway, pointing out important rooms as she went.

Seija followed quietly in tow. She nodded boredly at Byakuren’s words, but didn’t offer up any of her own.

At last, she came to the room Murasa and she had cleaned out.

“This is your room.. Oh, uh, if you would like.” Byakuren gave Seija a sheepish grin. “The closest bathroom is just across the hall there.” Byakuren pointed over Seija’s shoulder. Seija turned to see. “Nue, the black haired girl with wings, well, her room is right next door.” Byakuren motioned to the door beside the one she had previously pointed out. “She also uses that bathroom… So, admittedly, it would involve some sharing. But I don’t have any doubt that you two could work things out.” Byakuren smiled.

She opened the door to Seija’s potential room, and stepped inside.

“I hope it’s big enough for your liking.” Byakuren said.

The window Byakuren had cracked last night let in a frigid breeze. She made her way over to close it. As the glass and wood moved, a small avalanche of snow poured down off of the roof. It fell to the snow covered ground, and billowed out in a thick cloud of sparkling flakes.

Byakuren turned back to face Seija with a small smile.

“Sorry, I forgot to close that.”

Seija was still standing in the threshold of the doorway. She glanced in, but didn’t move forward.

Byakuren looked at her silently.

“...My rooms better.” Seija said at last. She folded her arms and averted her gaze.

Byakuren blinked a little taken aback.

Seija glanced at her from out of the corner of her eye.

They met eyes for just a fraction of a second, before Seija looked away again. This time, she was definitely blushing.

“Oh!” Byakuren beamed. “Oh! Of course! If you wish to stay where you are.. I suppose that isn’t really a problem! I just want you to be the most comfortable!”

Seija nodded.

“Nobody could be comfortable in this shack.” Seija huffed, but there was no real ice in her voice.

Byakuren stepped back out of the room and closed the door behind her.

It was quiet out in the hall. Byakuren smiled down at Seija, but Seija kept her gaze low.

“...Seija?” Byakuren asked after a moment.

Seija glanced up at her silently.

“Would it… um..” Byakuren blushed a bit. “Be ok if I asked if I could hug you?”

“I’m leaving and never coming back.” Seija said flatly.

“Oh, Oh! Ok, I won’t don’t worry.” Byakuren put her hands up and blushed a bit. “I’m sorry.”

Seija sighed and shook her head.

“Let’s just continue on with the tour then. I’m sorry… I was just happy…”

Byakuren lead her back down the hallway and made her way across the other half of the temple.

Again, she pointed out important rooms along the way.

Before long, they came to a stop in front of the laundry room door.

Seija brought her hand up to the door knob.

“Oh, um?” Byakuren said, she wrung her hands together.

Seija stopped and turned to look at her curiously.

“Before you disappear in there, I was wondering if you wanted a fresh change of clothes?” Byakuren asked. “You can have a bath, and I’ll leave some out for you. I’m almost positive that you could easily fit into Murasa or Nue’s clothing. I’m sure they’ll have something they won’t mind giving you.”

Seija hesitated, she stared flatly back at Byakuren.

“I bet this place doesn’t even have hot water.” She sighed and shrugged.

Byakuren beamed.

“You know where the baths are, I’ll be right over once I get you a new outfit, ok? And well, after that, well, you are particularly fond of the laundry room. That dress you’re in now might be stained, but it couldn’t hurt to see if the mud will wash out.”

“Yeah, yeah, monk.” Seija sighed and stepped around Byakuren. She disappeared down the hallway.

Byakuren stood where she was for a few moments, before heading off to look for Murasa.

 

* * *

 

Byakuren made her way back to the sitting room, and was pleasantly surprised to see Murasa was still working at her soup.

Nearly the entirety of Murasa’s black locks had changed to green, the tips of her hair had started changing transparent.

She sat with her head propped up in her hand and lazily sipping on her soup.

Byakuren made her way over to her, and she flinched. In that sudden movement, the remainder of black in her hair changed to green.

“Oh, geez, Hijiri, you startled me.” Murasa said putting a hand to her chest.

Byakuren could see Murasa’s fingers were starting to become translucent.

“Forgive me.” Byakuren said. “You don’t look so good, are you ok?”

“Yeah,” Murasa yawned, “Just beat. That snow was packing snow. Really heavy.”

“You did a good job.” Byakuren gave her a gentle smile. “Good work.”

“Daw, you’re flattering me.” Murasa waved it off, her translucent fingertips turned a bit green.

“Dear child, I have something to ask of you.”

“Hm?” Murasa blinked She looked a little taken aback by this. “What?”

“Do you have any old clothes that you don’t want anymore? I was going to get Seija something to wear to replace that muddy dress of hers.”

“Oh,” Murasa let out a sigh of relief. “Yeah, geez, I thought you were gonna ask me to shovel the road too. Uh, sure I bet I do. Come with me and pick out something you think she’ll like… or at least not hate.” Murasa shrugged.

Byakuren offered a hand to her to help her up. Murasa tried to take it, but her hand phased clean through Byakuren’s. Murasa gave a rueful chuckle.

“Dangit.” She sighed and got to her feet on her own. Byakuren frowned.

“After we settle this, why don’t you go lay down…?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Murasa yawned and started heading out of the room. She beckoned Byakuren to follow, and she did.

They made their way to Murasa’s room. It was a decently sized room with a thick blue carpet covering most of the wooden floor. The majority of Murasa’s furniture was made of a heavy dark colored oak. She had her curtains drawn, but sunlight still managed to pool in through the brown cotton.

Murasa made her way over to her dresser, opened the second drawer and started digging through it.

Byakuren noticed she was the type to not fold her clothes, and had just shoved them in the drawer in balls. She frowned, but didn’t say anything.

After a few moments of digging, Murasa pulled out a navy samue and presented it to Byakuren.

“How’s this?” She asked.

Byakuren looked it over in her hands. It seemed to have held up decently well.

“Ah… well.. do you think monks clothing would make her uncomfortable?” Byakuren frowned as she thought back to Seija’s words on the night she had carried her into the temple.

Murasa shrugged and took the samue top out of Byakuren’s hands.

“The pants are just cozy pants. Is that ok? I can find a different top.”

“Hmm… maybe…” Byakuren said.

Murasa turned back to the dresser, and shoved the samue top into it. She fished around some more, and pulled out a long grey sweater.

Byakuren recognized it, Murasa had bought it in town a few winters back, but complained that it didn’t breathe very well.

“How’s about this?” Murasa said as she handed it over to Byakuren.

Byakuren looked at it and smiled.

“I think this should do well enough, don’t you?”

“Yep.” Murasa said as she closed the dresser drawer. “Hey, uh, can you tell her to stop rolling around in the mud? I only have so much spare clothing.” Murasa made a face.

“Ah, well, I hope she won’t be doing anything like that any time soon…”

“Good. Good, just making sure she won’t be after my boots next. I need those.” Murasa gave a dry chuckle. Her now green hair bounced with the movement.

Byakuren folded the clothes in her arms and tucked them under her arm.

“Thank you for this, my child.” Byakuren smiled and tried to pat at her arm, but her hand only pushed Murasa’s shirt fabric through her arm.

“Whoops.” Murasa chuckled as she looked down at Byakuren’s hand. “Don’t worry about it. Happy to help.”

“Get some rest.” Byakuren gave her a bow.

Murasa nodded.

“Will do. If I don’t fall through the floor first.” She cackled.

Byakuren chuckled as well.

Murasa yawned and glanced over towards her futon with wistful eyes signaling it was time for Byakuren to make her leave.

She gave a bow, and headed back out the door.

 

* * *

 

“Do they fit?” Byakuren called through the bathroom door.

“Just gimme a minute, you stupid monk!” Was the response from the other side.

Byakuren frowned and folded her arms. She could hear moving from the other side of the door as Seija changed into the clothes she had brought her.

Seija’s shadow danced under the doorway. As Byakuren brought her eyes down to it, it stopped.

The door opened, and Seija stood in it’s frame.

Her hair was wet and drooped just barely down to her shoulders. The red splotch in her hair was darkened with the water, her white spots faded lazily into her black locks.

She was dressed in the clothes Byakuren had lent to her.

Murasa’s clothes, admittedly, fitted a little differently than she had imagined in her mind.

Murasa had wide broad shoulders that had apparently stretched the sweater some. The neck hole of the sweater was a little too open in result, but not by much. The sleeves were long as well, they had apparently reached past Seija’s hands. Seija had pulled the sleeves back, but occasionally they would droop back down.

The samue pants were a bit big as well. Murasa had some bulk to her that Seija did not. They bunched up at Seija’s ankles, but that seemed to be the worst of it.

Byakuren realized she had been looking at Seija for perhaps too long. Seija was giving her a very dirty look.

“You look good!” Byakuren said at last. “They do look a little big… Hmm.. maybe Nue’s clothing would fit you a bit better, although there is the issue with how they’ve been edited for her wings… hmm- Oh!”

Seija had shoved her aside and made her way out of the bathroom.

“Oh, um…” Byakuren hurried after her. Seija didn’t look back. “Are they at least comfortable? Um, if you would like, I could pick something else up for you in town if you’ll tell me your measurements…”

“Oh, so you can get me a nice monks robe?” Seija gave a very dry chuckle.

“Um, no, but maybe something other than what you have on and that stained dress?” Byakuren glanced back into the bathroom and saw Seija had just left it in a ball on the floor.

Byakuren frowned and trotted after Seija.

Seija remained silent.

It seemed she was heading back to her new room.

“Um, Seija…”

“What?!” Seija snapped. She had come to a halt. Her voice echoed off the walls. Byakuren took a step back.

“Are you a medium or small…?” Byakuren asked quietly.

Seija threw her hands up in the air with a grunt, and stormed off, slamming her door behind her.

 

* * *

 

As afternoon slowly turned to evening, dinner was made

It would most likely be the last meal they could squeeze out of the limited supplies on hand. A trip to the market would be necessary tomorrow. Byakuren decided she would stop for some clothing for Seija along the way. She would just have to estimate Seija’s measurements and go from there. She already knew she was just a bit smaller than Murasa, and roughly about the same size as Nue. If she did get something a little too big, maybe she would grow into it. If she was still growing… How tall was she? Did amanojakus get any bigger than that…?

Byakuren found herself lost in thought, she was only brought out of it when someone put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and turned to see Unzan behind her.

He moved a little back, and frowned as if to say _Sorry for startling you._

“It’s alright.” Byakuren grinned back.

Unzan gave a sheepish grin and glanced in the direction of the open doorway. He raised his hands and signed “Ichirin wants to see you.”

“Oh?” Byakuren blinked.

Unzan nodded.

“I’ll go find her right away then.” Byakuren gave Unzan a small bow, and headed out the door.

She found Ichirin near the front door crouching over the bags of rice Shou had purchased. Ichirin glanced up when she saw Byakuren was there.

“Oh, hello!”

“Hello, dear. You wanted something?” Byakuren asked.

Ichirin nodded and stood up straight.

“Some of this rice doesn’t really look like it’s in very good condition…”

“Well, it was harvested quite early…” Byakuren said as she glanced out over towards the door.

Wind rattled against the front of the temple, and carried in just a bit of it’s chill into the threshold.

“I know, but,” Ichirin sighed. “I’m just saying, we’re probably going to have to buy some more somewhere in January, if we can even hold out on it for that long with our newest addition to the family. And when we do buy it, it’s gonna be pricey.”

“Mm.. you’re right.” Byakuren frowned.

“But, you know, I was thinking…”

“Hm?”

“This year, for the Autumn Festival, let’s really kick it into high gear! There’s always a huge spike in donations afterwards, right? We’ll just give them everything we’ve got so we get even more!” Ichirin bounced a little and punched at the air.

Byakuren chuckled.

“Well, that does sound like a plan. But, how would we do that?”

“Listen, I’ve been thinking…” Ichirin said blushing a little. “Well, don’t laugh if it sounds stupid…”

“Of course I won’t.” Byakuren gave her a gentle smile.

“What if… we had T-shirts?”

“Um…” Byakuren blinked. “T-shirts will increase our popularity?”

“Not just any T-shirts! T-shirts that really put us out there! Something that’d, I dunno, spread the word!”

“Hm…” Byakuren brought her hand up to her chin.

“Like, like, you know, Kyouko’s band shirt! Everyone knows what band she’s in whenever she wears it!”

“You… want us to get band shirts?”

“Well! Not band shirts, but shirts that say something like… Uh.. _Buddhism Rules_!”

Byakuren snorted.

“You said you wouldn’t laugh!” Ichirin stomped her foot. Her purple curls bounced with the movement.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry… Maybe a different slogan would fit us better…” Byakuren continued to chuckle.

“Like what?”

“I’m not very sure…”

“Hmm….” Ichirin put her hands on her hips. “Well, I’ll definitely put some thought into it… But you like the idea, don’t you?”

“It certainly has potential…” Byakuren said.

“Good! Because… Uh, I already sorta, uh, bought the blank T-shirts…”

“Oh… You did?” Byakuren couldn’t quite stifle down a grin.

“Yeah… and… maybe a few extra… W-Which is good! Because Seija can definitely fit into one of them!” Ichirin turned even more pink.

“How many extra?” Byakuren blinked.

“Um… not many… listen, don’t worry about it, really!” Ichirin waved it off.

“Ichirin…” Byakuren said carefully.

“No, no, really! Don’t worry. I uh, just wanted to get your ok on this before I really got dedicated!”

“But, you said you bought the shir-”

“No, no, it’s ok! Really, uh, ok,” Ichirin started shooing Byakuren back down the hallway. “You go make dinner, and, uh, I’ll just go and handle this rice. Go on…”

“Hm…” Byakuren looked over her shoulder at Ichirin, “Well, if you insist.”

“Oh, but I do!” Ichirin chuckled nervously. “And don’t you worry! Everything will be handled.” Ichirin practically shoved Byakuren back into the kitchen. “Really! Really! Uh, and tell that Seija we’ll have plenty of shirts for her… I hope she likes lavender…"

“Lavend-”

“Ok! Bye!” Ichirin hurried back down the hall.

Byakuren listened to her hurried footsteps, become more and more faint.

She sighed and continued on cooking.

 

* * *

 

The next few days passed in an awkward dance.

The entirety of the temple’s resident’s routines were thrown completely off with the newest addition to their family.

In particular, the flow the laundry was cleaned at was severely disturbed.

Seija had apparently made a habit of it to “lock” the laundry room door, making it impossible for residents to get in to wash their clothing.

The only time it was possible to actually get into the room and get any work done was when Seija disappeared during unscheduled parts of the day.

Seija had also apparently made a habit out of refusing to use the front door for one reason or the other, and insisted on only exiting and entering through the window.

Mamizou had hypothesized that in doing this, it made Seija feel as if she were merely breaking and entering instead of integrating into the temple.

Nue had hypothesized that Seija was just being a difficult asshole.

In any case, it lead to a back up in dirty laundry that needed to get washed.

Byakuren found herself standing at the laundry room door, basket in hand, hesitating before knocking.

The basket in her hand was heavy and filled to the brim with dirty laundry. It was filled with mostly towels and some robes, it also had a few of Shou’s dirty outfits mixed in as well. Shou always forgot to pick her clothes up off the bathroom floor.

Byakuren took in a deep breath, and finally willed herself to knock.

It was quiet inside, but she would rather be safe than sorry before trying to open the door.

She waited.

Still there was nothing.

Byakuren slowly brought her hand down to the door knob, but froze when she heard movement from the other side of the door.

There was a shuffling sound, followed by footsteps.

The door opened, and Seija stood in it’s frame.

She was wearing one of the light purple T-shirts Ichirin had given her, and, to Byakuren’s delighted surprise, a pair of white jogger pants that Byakuren had gotten for her in town. Her hair was messy and stuck up on one side as if it had been pressed against a pillow.

Byakuren wondered if she had been sleeping. It was a little past noon, but Byakuren understood that not everyone rose with the sun like she did.

Byakuren offered her a smile

Seija just stared flatly up at her. Seija’s eyes were heavy lidded and her face as blank.

“What do you want, monk?”

“Oh, I was wondering if I could do a load of laundry?” Byakuren shifted to basket in her arms as if to say _this laundry right here_.

Seija brought her eyes down to the blanket, bored. She yawned.

“Whatever.” Seija turned and made her way over to the futon that was laid out in the corner. She got down and snuggled into it, keeping her back to Byakuren.

Byakuren stood in the doorway for a few moments, watching her, then stepped into the room.

She made her way over to the washer tub, and began filling it with water.

The water fell to the bottom of the tub with a heavy patter. Byakuren heard Seija groan at the noise.

As the tub filled, she let her mind wander. She brought her eyes over to Seija’s back.

She watched Seija’s shoulders rise and fall in time with her breathing. This movement jostled a few strands of Seija’s hair. As her shoulder fell, a white lock shifted down a few inches. Her hair, although admittedly knotted, looked soft and feathery.

Byakuren thought back to when they had first met. She remembered the mud matted in her hair, and the rain falling down her bangs. She frowned.

The water in the tub had filled a substantial amount. Its surface rose and brushed against Byakuren’s fingertips, drawing her out of her thoughts.

She brought her attention back to the tub, and turned off the faucet before reaching for a box of soap. She measured out a decent amount and poured it into the water.

“How are you sleeping, hm?” Byakuren asked quietly. “Is that futon comfortable for you?” Byakuren glanced sideways over towards Seija again.

Underneath the tan comforter that was covering Seija’s lower half, she saw Seija’s legs move.

“It smells.” Seija said. Her voice came out as a quiet grumble.

“Hm?” Byakuren collected a few towels and placed them into the water. “It does?”

“Yeah, like filthy dirty monk.” Seija said. Her voice gained a little more volume. Her legs moved some more under the comforter.

“Ah.” Byakuen smiled some. “I expect that’s because that futon used to be mine.” Byakuren saw Seija’s legs abruptly stop moving. “That first night you stayed here I moved my futon in here so you’d have something to sleep on. My room was closer than the one I had prepared for you… I suppose I didn’t think it completely through… If that bothers you, you can have the futon that was set up in that room for you. Well, since then, I actually started sleeping on it… but, well…” She glanced over at Seija again.

Seija still wasn’t moving. She looked tense.

“Does that upset you?”

“Shoulda expected this rinky dink old place just giving out hand-me-downs.” Seija said at last.

“It’s a perfectly good futon… Only about as old as anybody else’s…” Byakuren said.

Seija rolled over to face Byakuren. She had pulled the comforter up past her nose.

“How long are you even going to take in here, huh?” Seija’s voice was muffled a bit.

Byakuren brought her attention back down to the towels in the water. She started washing them.

“Sorry, I became a bit distracted. I’ll try not to take long if you’re resting, dear.” Byakuren smiled a bit to herself.

There were a few long moments of silence, filled only by the light splashing of the water as Byakuren wrung the towels through the suds.

Byakuren could feel Seija’s eyes on her.

Byakuren moved to collect a robe from the basket, stealing a peek at Seija with the movement.

Seija was definitely staring at her. She had pulled the blanket up a little more so it was just below the bottom of her eyes. Her red eyes glinted up at her through her thick black eyelashes.

“Seija,” Byakuren said as she placed the robe in the water.

“What do you want?”

“How are you feeling?” Byakuren glanced over at her.

Seija narrowed her eyes.

“I, uh, I was just wondering…” Byakuren frowned. “I mean, you never did let me bandage you up…”

Seija’s eyes became cold. She sat up, pushing the comforter off of her.

“Oh, no, no, no!” Byakuren raised her hands, a splash of soapy water fell onto the floor with the movement. “No, don’t worry I’m not going to try anything. I was just wondering if you had healed alright…”

Seija glared at her for a few very long moments. She looked as if she were debating storming out of the room.

Byakuren frowned and brought her dripping hands together.

“I’m sorry. I really am…” Byakuren said softly. “I realize I was far too rough with you that night. You don’t need to worry. I won’t do something like that again…” She looked away from Seija. “I let my emotions get the better of me, and I realize I pushed you too far. I’m sorry.” Byakuren said.

Seija continued to stare at her. Byakuren saw Seija’s eyes glance over towards the door for a fraction of a second, before landing flatly back on her.

Seija’s face relaxed all at once. She gripped at the comforter, yanked it back over herself, and plopped back down into the futon again.

Byakuren let out a little sigh of relief.

She turned back to the washing tub and started working on the laundry again.

She heard sheets shuffling, and looked over to see Seija had rolled over again so her back was facing Byakuren.

Byakuren sighed.

“You know, I think Ichirin is thinking about making pie today.” Byakuren said as she dug through the basket for Shou’s socks.

“Great.” Seija said flatly.

“If you told her what you liked, I’m sure she would make it… She’s a very sweet girl. I’m sure she want’s to be friends with you.”

“Is she the fat one or pink one?” Seija asked with a rueful little chuckle.

“She was blessed with a healthy body.” Byakuren said with a little smile. “Although on she does blush quite a bit, so she could be considered pink as well.” Byakuen chuckled a little.

She glanced over, and saw Seija was moving her legs under the comforter again.

“Although, if you did wish to suggest something I would suggest to do it before Murasa got to her. Ichrin does have a sweet spot for her.”

Seija didn’t respond, instead, she flipped her pillow over and snuggled into it.

“Although, I suggest you don’t ask Ichirin to make a custard type of pie. She always struggles with that.” Byakuren said as she wrung out another towel.

Seija grunted and rolled over onto her back. Seija spread her arms and glared up at the ceiling.

The splotch of red in her hair stuck up comically high above her horns.

Byakuren saw this and had to cover her mouth so she wouldn’t snort. In effect, she got a dollop of soap on her nose. She wiped it away with the back of her sleeve.

Seija glanced over at her curiously.

“What are you laughing at?” She asked, her teeth flashed.

“Forgive me.” Byakuren giggled despite her efforts.

“What?!” Seija asked, even more irritated.

“Your hair is sticking up. It’s cute.” Byakuren giggled some more.

Seija’s tanned cheeks turned a very prominent shade of red that challenged the streak in her hair. She shot up out of the futon.

“GET OUT OF MY ROOM!” Her voice echoed off the walls. “YOU ANNOYING MONK! GET OUT!”

Byakuren couldn’t stop giggling. That one splotch sticking up bounced with her movements. It almost looked like a third horn.

Seija’s blush spread to her slightly pointed ears. She huffed and put her hands flatly on Byakuren’s back. She gave a very firm shove, and forced Byakuren straight out the door.

Byakuren had to clutch her stomach, it hurt to laugh this hard.

She turned around just in time to see Seija standing in the doorway. Seija had one hand on the door, and the other covering her hair. Her eyes were wide, and her lips were parted into a half-heartedly formed snarl.

“You’re an idiot!” Seija yelled before slamming the door in Byakuren’s face.

Byakuren stood where she was for a few long moments, catching her breath. Her stomach still ached.

 

* * *

 

With the newest addition to the temple, the food disappeared alarmingly quickly. Not even a full week after getting groceries at the market, they were running low again.

Seija’s stomach either was very large, or digested food at a ridiculous pace. She could clean out the entire pantry in an afternoon if left alone.

The other temple residents were annoyed by this, especially Nazrin and Nue.

Apparently Seija had the same preference in food as Nazrin and Nue did, as their food was always the first to go.

Byakuren tried to keep the peace, she suggested that it was possible that Seija didn’t have access to much food before, and to have sympathy, but this only barely calmed the tension.

Today was the second time in six days Byakuren found herself down in town.

Today was a particularly mild day. The wind was chilled, but the sun was warm.

The snow that had fallen had started to melt a little with this fluctuation in temperature. With any luck, it would disappear before the Autumn Festival. In the past, snowy festivals were a little uncomfortable. If the weather would just heat up a bit more, it would at least guarantee no one’s socks would be soaked due to the icy streets.

Byakuren found herself shivering as she made her way through the farmers market.

She was surrounded with the familiar smells of miscellaneous food scents wafting together as one large overwhelming cloud.

The basket in her hand was filled with the temple’s usuals. Vegetables, fruit, nori, milk, as well as others.

Byakuren passed a particularly colorful wall of boxed sweets from the outside world. She wondered what long trip they had had to go through to be present here.

Her eyes skimmed along it and landed on a pink box with some type of western writing on it. She could only read a few letters out of the barely legible font, but judging by the packaging design it looked to be some type of strawberry flavored candy.

She knew if Nue had any weakness, it was for strawberries.

She took the box in her hand and turned it over. The box’s contents rattled with the motion.

She tilted her head and examined the box. It seemed to be in good condition. Something that was slightly uncommon for treats such as this.

She placed it in her basket. It nearly slipped out, but she turned and caught it.

In that motion, she caught sight of a small blonde girl staring very openly at her.

The girl was a bit of a distance away, standing next to a large hanging basket filled with lettuce.

The girl was dressed in a short black dress, and her hair was tied up into a single pigtail on the side of her head. Her large red eyes blinked at Byakuren.

Byakuren frowned and decided to shrug it off.

She payed for the candy, then continued on down the next aisle. It was more crowded here.

Just up ahead, she could see fishermen and women selling their catches. The smell of the ocean hung heavily in the air. The sunlight danced off the ice the fish were chilled on.

She squeezed into line. Mamizou had been asking her to pick up some fish. Now seemed like a good opportunity since most of her shopping was done.

A pair of young girls queued up behind her as the line grew. Someone up ahead had their order filled, and moved on. The line inched up, and Byakuren took a small step forward.

Something brushed up against her arm. She looked over, to see the small blonde girl from earlier had gotten into line next to her. Byakuren blinked down at her.

The girl dragged her large red eyes across Byakuren’s face, then down to the basket in her hand, then back up again. She bit down on her lip, and Byakuren saw she had a particularly sharp pair of teeth.

“Hello there…” Byakuren said uncertainly.

“Don’t buy too much.” The girl said back.

Byakuren frowned, confused.

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t buy too much.” The girl said again. “Or the deal will be off.”  
“... Um…?” Byakuren blinked.

The line moved forward just a bit. Byakuren took a step forward, as did the blonde girl.

“So don’t buy too much.” The girl nodded.

“What deal?” Byakuren asked.

“If there isn’t enough at the end of the day, I can’t take any home.”

“Hm? Food or…?”

“Yeah. That’s what the lady said.” The girl nodded.

“Which lady?”

“The fisherman lady.” The girl said. She took her large red eyes off of Byakuren and moved them to the front of the line. Byakuren followed them and saw they landed on a woman amongst the sellers.

She was stout with a square leathery face and wispy white hair. She must have felt Byakuren’s gaze on her, because she looked up and met eyes with her. The woman gave Byakuren a smile and small bow, Byakuren returned it. The woman’s eyes then traveled down and saw the girl at Byakuren’s side. The woman’s smile fell. Byakuren could almost hear her sigh from here. The woman shook her head dismissively and brought her attention away from the pair.

“Oh, well, that’s nice of that woman.” Byakuren said.

The girl nodded.

“She got mad when I kept trying to steal food during the day, so now she says I can steal whatever food I want at night from her as long as there is enough to steal.”

“Oh, well, she seems kind.” Byakuren gave the girl a small smile. “Don’t worry. I’m not here to buy a lot of fish.”

The girl looked at the basket in Byakuren’s hands.

“But you already bought so much. You’re gonna buy a lot of fish too. You eat a lot, right? That’s how you got so tall, right? My teacher, my teacher says that if you eat a lot of good stuff your body gets big.”

“Mm… she’s right. But what’s in this basket isn’t all for me. I’m shopping for multiple people. I live in the Myouren Temple and this food is for everyone that lives there.”

“Ooooh…” The girl’s eyes went wide. “The people at the temple eat a lot?”

“Mm… well, there’s quite a few people, so it takes a lot to feed all of them.”

“Ooooh… But then they eat a lot of fish?” The girl looked back up towards the woman at the front.

“No, not many people up there eat fish.”

“Why not?”

“Because in the temple our religion encourages us to not.” Byakuren said.

“My teacher, my teacher, she, uh, she tells me that I can’t eat some things too… Do you have a teacher like that?” The girl looked up at her again.

“No, I am the teacher.” Byakuren smiled down at her. “I’m Byakuren Hijiri, I’m the one that teaches my followers.”

“Ooh… I’m Rumia. I, uh, I get taught by my teacher. But you said you’re a teacher? I didn’t know there was more than one…” Rumia looked down and bit one of her knuckles.

“Mm, there are.” Byakuren smiled. “Is your teacher Miss Keine?”

The line moved forward a little more, Byakuren and Rumia stepped forward as well. They were second to next in line.

“Yeah huh.” Rumia nodded. Her red bow bounced a little. “She’s the only teacher I’ve ever had… I think, I think that, I don’t remember anyone else being my teacher.”

“Ah, Miss Keine is a nice woman.” Byakuren smiled.

“She gets mad at me when I do something bad, though… One time, I smacked her butt with my ruler, and she got so mad…” Rumia swung an imaginary ruler at Byakuren’s butt. Byakuren flinched a little with the movement.

“Goodness, I can see why…” Byakuren frowned.

“She said it wasn’t nice to do that to people.”

“It’s not.” Byakuren said, still a little taken aback.

“But, I haven’t done that again. I don’t want her to get that mad at me again. When she gets mad, she makes a face like this…” Rumia looked up at Byakuren and screwed up her face.

Byakuren couldn’t help but snort.

“Next!” One of the sellers called before Byakuren could respond any more.

Byakuren made her way forward. Rumia stayed glued to her side.

The fish seller was a younger man with a long face and brown hair tied back with a bandana.

“What’ll you have?” He said as he wiped his forehead with the back of his green sleeve.

“Hm…” Byakuren leaned over to look at the fish resting on the ice. She suddenly became a little self-conscious of her butt as she bent over. She glanced over at Rumia, who just blinked back at her blankly. Byakuren straightened back up.

“Just two carp and… hm… that small bass.” Byakuren said as she pointed to them.

The man nodded and began wrapping them up.

He glanced nervously down at Rumia.

“That little one with you…?” He said as he started on one of the carps.

“She’s um… keeping me company.” Byakuren smiled softly.

The man nodded slowly and continued on in silence.

“28 mon.” He said as he presented the fish to her.

Byakuren placed the fish in her basket and pulled out the necessary mon. She placed them in the man’s hand. He counted them as she did so.

“Thank you.” Byakuren gave him a bow. He bowed back.

Beside Byakuren, Rumia gave a little nod as well.

Byakuren headed out of line and began heading in the direction of the temple.

To her surprise, Rumia followed as well.

Byakuren glanced down at her as she made her way back through the aisles.

“So, no class today?” Byakuren asked.

“Nuh uh.” Rumia shook her head.

“Mm…” Byakuren smiled and continued on forward. Rumia trotted after her. “Well, tell me, Rumia. Would you like to have dinner with me?” Byakuren asked.

Rumia gave her a wide, slightly jarring, toothy grin.

“Yes!” She bounced.

“All right. How do you feel about bass?”

“I like it!” Rumia spun around in a circle, her arms outstretched.

“Well, good. Because I bought that one for you.”

“OOH!” Rumia clung onto Byakuren’s robes. “Now! I want to eat it now!”

Byakuren frowned down at her.

“But, it’s dirty. I don’t want you getting sick.”

“No!” Rumia groaned and tugged even harder. “NOW!”

A few people in the market glanced over at the pair and frowned.

Byakuren sighed.

“Rumia, you’re going to get sick if you eat it before I clean it.”

“I do it all the time! Nothing makes me sick! I eat the fish all the time! Let me have it now!”

“No, no.” Byakuren shook her head. Rumia groaned and let go of her robes.

“You’re mean…”

“Listen, um, what if I bought you a snack in the meantime, hm? To keep-”

“YES!” Rumia jumped up and down a few times. “YES!”

“Hm… Alright let’s see…” Byakuren said as she scanned the market for a treat. Her eyes landed on a small dango stand down a ways. “Do you like dango?”

“I DO!” Rumia was practically vibrating.

“Right, then if I buy you dango will you promise to behave?”

“YES!”

“Alright.” Byakuren made her way over to the dango stand. It was at the very edge of the market, pressed up against a few shops along the road.

The woman behind the stand eyed Rumia nervously as they approached. Byakuren wondered just exactly what kind of reputation Rumia had.

The woman shifted a bit as Byakuren took a step in front of her.

“Hello. Welcome.” The woman said as she gave them a bow. her sleek black hair rolled off her shoulders with the movement.

“Hello. Hm, Rumia.” Byakuren turned to the girl.

Rumia had a line of drool running down her chin.

“What flavor do you want?”

“ALL OF THEM!” Rumia shrieked.

The woman jumped.

“Forgive her.” Byakuren frowned. “Just a mix then.”

The woman nodded and silently went to work preparing them.

Rumia went silent as she bounced up and down at Byakuren’s side. She watched the woman prepare the treats with a ravenous look in her eyes.

Byakuren frowned again and let her mind wander.

Her eyes traveled down the road a bit.

Off to the side was a small elderly woman making her way toward Byakuren.

Byakuren recognized her as one of the regulars at the temple. She attended nearly all of Byakuren’s sermons.

The woman was named Etsuko. She was extremely short sighted and always wore a very thick pair of glasses. Her hair was white and almost always was tied in a tight bun on the top of her head. There was a rumor that in her youth before she moved into the village she was quite the beauty and had a reputation for breaking hearts. She had never married, but had three children, all grown boys. She had apparently given up the heartbreaking life, and had taken up knitting for her children and grandchildren. In her arms, she had a large bag filled to the top with balls of yarn. Byakuren suspected she was starting a new project.

Etsuko hobbled over to Byakuren and gave her a bow. Byakuren bowed back.

“Hijiri!” Etsuko grinned. Surprisingly for Etsuko’s age, she still had all of her teeth. Her smile was a prize winner. Byakuren could easily imagine her being quite the looker back in the day.

“Hello Etsuko.” Byakuren gave her a bow.

Etsuko let out a little cackle and glanced down at Rumia. She fixed her glasses with one hand.

“Well, is this the new one I keep hearing about?”

“Hm?” Byakuren blinked.

“Don’t act dumb, Hijiri! Word has it you took in a little someone back at the temple.” Etsuko winked.

Byakuren chuckled.

“No, this is Rumia. She’s only joining me for dinner today.” Byakuren smiled.

Rumia was still drooling. It now dripped down her chin onto the ground. Her eyes were wide and glistening.

Etsuko cackled some more and shrugged.

“Well, good for you. None’a my littleuns wanna keep me any company when I shop… Oh! Hijiri! I haven’t told you the news!”

“News?” Byakuren blinked.

“That’ll be 3 mon.” The woman at the dango stand interrupted. Byakuren paused to pay her and accept the skewer of dangos. Byakuren handed it to Rumia. Rumia dug right in.

Etsuko ushered Byakuren and Rumia over to the side of the street.

“My eldest grandkid’s gonna have a baby!” Etsuko beamed.

Byakuren beamed back.

“Goodness! That’s great news!”

“Yep! Due next May. And thank goodness I’ve got some time to finish this baby blanket. My eyes are givin’ out, Hijiri. Takes longer than ever to get a row done.” Etsuko nodded to the yarn in her bag. It was a light yellow wool that looked soft to the touch.

“That’s beautiful yarn. I’m sure the baby will love it.”

“Love it as much as one that little can.” She cackled. “Got a pretty good deal on it too. That crafting shop is havin’ a sale.”

“Oh, really?” Byakuren frowned as she thought.

Etsuko gave her a wink.

“Gonna knit a gift for that new one? Nothin’ says I love you more than a spending a dozen hours knotting some old sheep’s wool.” She cackled.

“Well, maybe I should consider it.” Byakuren chuckled along.

There was a _crunch_ and Byakuren and Etsuko looked down.

Rumia had swallowed the entirety of the dango, stick and all.

Byakuren frowned.

“Oh my…” Byakuren frowned. Etsuko just laughed.

“I’ll leave you be.” She said with a wave as she made her way around Rumia and Byakuren. “See you soon, Hijiri.”

Byakuren gave Etsuko a little bow before turning back to Rumia.

Rumia just grinned up at her.

 

* * *

 

Preparing dinner was a bit of an effort with Rumia.

Rumia drooled nonstop and clung heavily onto the side of Byakuren’s robes. Byakuren felt Rumia’s drool seep through to her leg, and shivered.

There were a good half dozen teeth marks on the wooden spoon Byakuren let Rumia lick. She had to take it away from the small girl before she bit it in half.

Just about twice every minute, Rumia would either ask if dinner was finished or if she could taste something.

Byakuren became very good at firmly saying _no_ ten minutes in.

Misadventures aside, eventually dinner was finished.

Byakuren could hear the temple’s residents begin to enter the dining room behind her.

Rumia apparently noticed this too, as she let go of Byakuren’s robes.

Byakuren glanced down at her, and noticed she was gnawing on one of her knuckles and looking at the door.

Byakuren glanced up and saw Shou enter the room.

Shou eyed Rumia and gave Byakuren a nervous smile.

“Company?”

“Yes. This is Rumia.” Byakuren said as she motioned to her. “Rumia, this is Shou.”

“Hello Rumia.” Shou bowed.

“You smell like a kitty.” Rumia giggled and covered her mouth.

Shou fidgeted a little.

“Yes, well-”

“I ate a kitty one time. It wasn’t as juicy as a dog, though…” Rumia swayed a little.

Shou noticeably paled.

“Oh?” She looked over at Byakuren for support.

“Oh ah, Shou dear, can you help me carry out the food?” Byakuren said as

she motioned to the plates. Shou nodded.

“I wanna help!” Rumia jumped and raised her hands above her head.

“Ah, no.” Byakuren frowned. “That’s ok. Shou is big and strong and we don’t need any help.”

Rumia’s smile fell. She pouted up at Byakuren. Byakuren took her eyes off her. She wasn’t very good at resisting pouts like that.

Instead, she lifted a few plates and carried them out to the dining room. Shou followed with arms equally as full. Together, they began setting the table.

The remaining temple residents entered the room and took their seats. It seemed today Nue was out. Her usual seat was empty, but beside her, everyone was in attendance.

Last to come in was Seija. She sat down at the end of the table as she always did. Only this time, Rumia had taken the usual free seat next to her.

Seija glanced down at her but didn’t say anything.

Seija never said anything during meals.

Rumia felt her eyes on her and looked up to meet them.

“Hi.” She said.

Seija didn’t respond. Instead, she turned her attention to her tea and started chugging it.

“Hi.” Rumia said again, this time a little louder.

“Rumia.” Byakuren said. “This is yours.” She placed Rumia’s plate down in front of her.

Rumia squealed and started shoveling it into her mouth so quickly, Byakuren felt there was threat that she might accidentally swallow one of her chopsticks.

The table collectively seemed disturbed by this.

“So, uh,” Nazrin spoke up as she picked up her own chopsticks. “Company?”

“Yes,” Byakuren nodded. “Everyone, this is Rumia. She’ll be eating with us tonight.”

“Just tonight?” Nazrin asked slowly.

“Yes.” Byakuren nodded again.

“Oh, uh, ok.” Nazrin nodded. “Hello, Rumia. I’m Nazrin.” She said.

Rumia glanced up at her as she slurped the fish bones into her mouth.

“Hi.” Rumia nodded, then turned back to Seija. “Hi.” She said again.

Seija looked annoyed by this. Her lips were pressed in a tight thin line.

“Rumia.” Byakuren gave her a weak smile. “So, are you enjoying your dinner?”

Byakuren eyed Rumia’s plate. It was almost completely cleaned by now, whereas the rest of the temple’s residents’ plates had barely been touched.

Rumia nodded.

“It’s good.” She said with a mouth full of rice. “Better than the graham crackers Miss Keine gives us.”

“Oh, you’re one of Miss Keine’s students?” Ichirin smiled softly. “She’s very nice. Do you like her?”

Rumia nodded.

“Yeah, she’s ok. But she can be not very nice sometimes when I do bad things. But if I do good things she’ll give me more graham crackers. If I do really good things, like my homework, she’ll give me candy. But only if I do my own homework. One time, I took my friends’ homework, and gave it to Miss Keine and told her that I did extra homework, but, but, she knew it was me fibbing. I didn’t get any candy for that. Instead I got a timeout…” Rumia said in all one breath.

The table fell silent. It seemed no one knew how to respond to this. Instead, they all worked on their meals.

Within a few seconds, Rumia finished off everything that was on her plate. She eyed the rest of the table’s food hungrily, until her eyes landed on Seija again.

“Hi.” Rumia said.

Seija seemed to be gritting her teeth. She was clutching her chopsticks very hard.

“So, um…” Shou began. It seemed she was picking up on Seija’s tension.“What’s your favorite subject?”

Rumia blinked up at her.

“Uh, I like maths. I can do maths quick.”

“Oh?” Shou smiled. “That’s a tough subject. I’m impressed.”

Rumia nodded and said, “It’s not hard. But I don’t like the long problems that Miss Keine gives us. They sometimes have lies in them that I don’t understand. Like, one time, there was this one that said someone ate 47 cookies, but, but, Miss Keine said if someone actually did that they would get really sick. Why would the maths lie like that? If I tried to eat 47 cookies, I would get yelled at. I don’t know if I even could, but Miss Keine said I would get sick and not want to eat cookies ever again in my entire life.”

As Rumia kept on talking, Byakuren idly glanced at Seija.

To her astonishment, for just a second, she could have sworn she saw Seija actually smile. Seija never smiled. Byakuren had to stop herself from absolutely gaping.

“But,” Rumia continued and turned her gaze on Byakuren, “But, Miss Keine made us solve that problem anyway. Why would I need to know about something that isn’t even true?” Rumia asked.

Out of the corner of her eye, Byakuren saw Seija smile again.

Apparently, this time it was harder to push down. Seija lifted her cup to her lips to hide it, but her eyes still were grinning.

“Well, sometimes with problems like that they don’t have to be taken literally. It’s just for practice so you understand how to do the math problem.” Byakuren said. “It’s just an example… A story that you could work with.”

Rumia frowned.

“What? But if it’s a story, why do I need to know how to solve it?”

“Well…” Byakuren tilted her head a bit. “One day, it might not be cookies. One day it might be… well something like a bag of rice. What if one day instead of counting how many cookes someone has eaten, you’re helping count how many bags of rice the farmers have carried in?”

“Well.” Rumia pouted. “Why don’t they just say bags of rice then!?”

“It’s just a fun story to get you interested in solving the problem.” Byakuren frowned.

“A story, huh?” Seija said. She smirked over at Byakuren.

The entire table froze and looked at her.

“...Yes.” Byakuren said lamely, not exactly sure how to respond.

Seija’s sharp eyes twinkled a bit. Her smirk widened, her sharp teeth became visible.

From beside her, Rumia shifted a bit.

“I don’t like it. They should just say bags of rice then.” She huffed and looked down at her empty plate. She glanced back over at Byakuren, pout suddenly gone. “Can I have the rest of your food?” She asked.

Byakuren looked down at her plate, she had barely touched anything.

“Well, my plate doesn’t have any fish. Is that ok with you?” She asked.

Rumia bounced and nodded.

“Well, alright. But only if you don’t ask the others for their food as well.”

“DEAL!” Rumia outstretched her hands to accept Byakuren’s plate.

Byakuren carefully handed it to the girl. Rumia snatched it, and began shoveling it into her mouth without even using her chopsticks this time.

Beside her, Seija’s wide smirk had fallen a bit. There was still a faint trace of it on her lips, but that was it.

Rumia quickly finished Byakuren’s plate. placed it back down on the table with a little yawn, and glanced up at Byakuren with a wide grin.

“No one at school ever let’s me have their food. Thanks, nice lady.”

“No problem.” Byakuren smiled warmly back at her.

Shou and Nazrin finished their meal at the same time, they stood and collected their dishes before heading out with a bow.

It seemed everyone else had nearly finished theirs as well, within the next few minutes Ichirin and Mamizou disappeared from the table too.

Rumia stayed where she was, swinging her feet under the table. She gave Byakuren a smile.

“If you’re a teacher, where are your students?” Rumia asked tilting her head.

“Well, some of the people who live here are my students, like Murasa over there.” Byakuren said motioning to Murasa a few seats down. Murasa looked over at Rumia and gave her a small smile.

Rumia just gaped.

“But she’s old!”

Murasa sputtered. Seija cackled.

“She’s not an elementary student, Rumia. You can be as old as you want to be one of my students.” Byakuren said.

Rumia frowned and looked over at Byakuren.

“Really?”

“Yes.” Byakuren said.

“So, you could be my teacher?” She asked tilting her head.

“Rumia, you already have a teacher.” Byakuren said.

“Oh, right.” Rumia nodded. “Miss Keine.”

“Yes. And I’m sure she loves having you as a student.”

“Yeah! She gives me candy all the time!”

“Then she definitely loves you a lot.” Byakuren chuckled warmly.

“Ok. Then, I’m gonna go see her right now.” Rumia said as she got to her feet.

“Need someone to walk you out?” Byakuren called.

“No. I’m ok.” Rumia said as she disappeared down the hall.

Murasa and Kyouko breathed out sighs of relief.

“I thought she was gonna eat her chopstick for sure…” Murasa said as she got to her feet.

“Me too…” Kyouko sighed again.

The two of them collected their dishes and excused themselves from the table.

Byakuren got to her feet as well, and leaned across the table to collect both Rumia’s plate and her own that Rumia had polished off.

She glanced over and saw Seija had also cleaned off her plate. She was just sitting in her seat. Her smirk had returned, she cast it up at Byakuren.

“Adding in another trophy to your collection of lackies?” Seija asked slyly.

Byakuren chuckled.

“Rumia? No. I don’t think our pantry could handle someone with her appetite

“This place doesn’t even have enough to feed me.” Seija said, her smirk widened even more and her eyes flashed.

Byakuren chuckled.

“We’re perfectly fine with you. Even with your healthy appetite.” Byakuren smiled warmly down at her.

Seija’s smirk faltered for a second, but she quickly corrected it.

“Sure you don’t want me to set up the futon in that spare room?”

“Oh…” Byakuren blinked. “Thinking about moving out of the laundry room?”

“No, stupid.” Seija’s nostrils flared. “Learn to read the mood, monk.” Seija abruptly got up, and to Byakuren’s surprise actually collected her plate and carried it over to the kitchen.

Seija hadn’t done that once since she moved in. Byakuren blinked again, and moved over to the kitchen as well, dirty plates in hand.

Seija grunted when she heard Byakuren’s footsteps behind her.

“Can’t you just leave me alone?” She huffed without turning back to face Byakuren.

Byakuren gave a small chuckle.

“I’m sorry, but I have dishes to wash too.” She said.

Seija glanced over her shoulder. Her lips were twisted in a small snarl.

Byakuren just smiled back.

They entered the kitchen together.

Seija made her way over to the sink with Byakuren in tow.

She turned on the water, and kept her back pointedly facing Byakuren.

Byakuren moved over to her side and waited as Seija dumped out her cup rinsed it with water. She glanced over at Byakuren out of the corner of her eye.

“What are you looking at?” She asked. Her voice was low and mumbled.

“Just waiting my turn.” Byakuren smiled and placed the plates down on the counter for the time being. Seija eyed them, then brought her attention back to her own dishes in the sink.

“...Just leave them.” Seija said as she dumped the water out of her cup.

“Hm?” Byakuren blinked wide eyed.

“Are ya deaf?!” Seija turned her head and shouted. “I said leave them! I’ll wash ‘em if it’ll get you away from me faster!”

Byakuren couldn’t help but smile.

“Now, that wouldn’t be fair.”

“You’re breathin’ down my neck! Get out of here!” Seija’s voice echoed off of the walls.

“Hm, how about this… You wash them and I’ll dry and put them away. I’ll even take a few steps back.” Byakuren said as she did just that.

Seija didn’t look up.

She ran the water off her plate, stacked the cup on top of it, then handed them to Byakuren with her eyes still low.

Byakuren beamed and took them.

She grabbed a dish towel, and started wiping them down as Seija took Rumia’s plate and started rinsing that too.

The room fell quiet. Byakuren found her mind wandering.

She thought of Rumia, Keine, that box of candy that she would need to save until Nue came back, Etsuko and her yarn. She wondered if Seija wore scarves.

She glanced up.

“Seija?” Byakuren said quietly as she opened the cabinet and put the newly dried cup away.

“What do you want now?” Seija huffed. Byakuren saw her close her eyes in aggravation.

“What’s your favorite color?” Byakuren asked. She saw Seija’s hand stop moving.

Seija looked over at her curiously.

“What?”

“What’s your favorite color?” Byakuren asked again as she finished wiping off the plate.

“ _Black like the night_.” Seija said dramatically as she rolled her eyes and shook her head a little. She brought her attention back to the sink.

Byakuren giggled. Seija looked over at her frowning. Apparently that had not been the right response.

“That’s a lie isn’t it?” Byakuren asked as she put the plate away. Seija handed her another dish.

“When have I been known to lie, huh?” Seija rolled her eyes again.

“Well, ok…” Byakuren ran the towel over the plate in her hand. “Then, tell me, what is your least favorite color?” Byakuren grinned up at her.

Seija was turned away from her, so she couldn’t read her face.

“I don’t like red.” Seija said quietly.

“Red?” Byakuren nodded. “A strong color. It fits you.” She smiled up at Seija.

Seija still didn’t look over at her, but her shoulders tensed.

“...Or purple.” Seija said.

Seija dumped out another cup and filled it with water.

“Oh? Purple? I like that color. It might be one of my favorites as well. But I’m fond of white as well.”

She heard Seija snort.

“Figures.” Seija mumbled.

Byakuren put the dish in her hands away, as Seija handed her the cup she had rinsed out.

Byakuren bunched the towel up into the cup.

“Well, you know, it’s a good thing that we ended up with all those purple T-shirts then.” Byakuren giggled as she ran her eyes over Seija.

Today, Seija wasn’t dressed in one of those shirts, but Byakuren had seen her wearing them quite a bit. She knew Seija wore them a lot for pajamas. Instead, Seija had on a short grey juban with a pair of thin black pants.

“Are they comfortable to wear?” Byakuren asked. Seija didn’t answer.

Byakuren quietly brought her attention back to the cup in her hand. She put it away.

Seija was working on rinsing off her last dish, she was doing it more slowly than she had attended to the rest.

“If they’re not, you can tell me… I just want you to be comfortable here.” Byakuren said quietly. She looked down at the dish cloth in her hand. It was rough and grey.

“They’re fallin’ apart. Just like everything else in this goddamn temple. Just cheap thin fabric.” Seija mumbled. Her voice came out a little more gently now.

Byakuren brought her gaze up to Seija.

The noise of the sink’s water falling on the plate filled the silence.

“You know, I could always get you something warmer… like, well, a jacket, or shawl, or scarf…” Byakuren wrung her hands together a little. “Are you the type to wear any of those…?”

“Even if I was, they’d just be some cheap quality trash that wouldn't hold up.” Seija said flatly.

Byakuren smiled softly.

Seija glanced over at her and saw this.

“The hell are you looking at?” Seija narrowed her eyes.

Byakuren chuckled and waved it off.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to stare.” Byakuren said. She felt the damp dish towel in her hand.

“Well, you do it a lot.” Seija said sharply. She flared her nostrils.

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re still doing it!” Seija shouted.

Byakuren lowered her eyes with a breathy giggle.

“And stop laughing!”

In response, Byakuren couldn’t help but giggle. She brought her hand up to her mouth to cover her grin.

She heard Seija growl.

“Stupid idiot, monk.”

The water splashed in the sink as Seija brought her attention back on the plate. She had been working on it for quite a while.

“Seija,” Byakuren began.

She heard Seija let out a sharp annoyed exhale.

“What?”

Before Byakuren could answer, from somewhere within the shrine, Kyouko screamed. The windows rattled. The plate slipped out of Seija’s hands. It fell to the bottom of the sink and shattered loudly.

Byakuren felt her blood go cold. She rushed out of the kitchen, and hurried along to Kyouko’s room.

Halfway there, she heard shouting coming from down a hallway to her left. She turned on her heals, and raced that way.

Just up ahead, around the corner, she could see the glow of danmaku.

She sped up, and rounded it.

She was met with a heavy blunt force, and tumbled to the ground in a haze. Her head was spinning, she could feel the weight of a body on top of her. Above her she could hear Murasa’s voice.

“Geez! Sorry! I didn’t see you! Are you o- GET BACK HERE!”

The weight lifted from her body and she heard footsteps rushing away from her.

She opened her eyes just in time to see Murasa hurry around the same corner she had just come from.

She groaned and got to her feet to follow her.

Murasa wasn’t too far up ahead, but she was moving quickly.

“What’s happening!?” Byakuren called up to her.

“That Rumia was still in the temple! She nearly bit a chunk outta Kyouko!” Murasa called back.

Byakuren didn’t respond, instead she sped up so she was next to Murasa.

Together, they made their way back in the direction of the dining room.

Up ahead, she could hear small hurried footsteps.

The came to the dining room door, and rushed into the room.

Byakuren caught sight of Rumia. She was running with her arms outstretched. Her red bow was bouncing rapidly.

Ichirin flung open the door on the wall nearest to Rumia, and lunged through it, arms outstretched.

Rumia yelped as Ichirin crashed down on top of her. She somehow managed to wriggle her way out of Ichirin’s arms, and stumbled forward, picking up her speed again.

The kitchen door opened, Seija stepped out of it, confused.

Rumia squeaked as she ran head first into Seija’s arms.

Seija grunted and instinctively wrapped her arms around her.

Rumia kept going, but was snagged by Seija’s embrace. She tumbled forward, but Seija hoisted her up before her face could smash into the ground. Rumia was spun upside down, her legs pointed up towards the ceilings and flailed. Seija held her tightly against her body, looking very confused by the small girl squirming in her arms.

A few feet away from them, Ichirin, who was still on the ground, cheered as she got to her feet.

“Nice catch, sister!” Ichirin exclaimed as she raised a fist above her head in her excitement.

Seija narrowed her eyes at her.

“What?” She asked looking taken aback.

Byakuren and Murasa slowed their pace as they approached them, and stopped.

Murasa panted and put her hands on her knees.

“Let me goooo! I’m sorry!” Rumia whined from Seija’s arms.

“What?” Seija asked again, she still hadn’t taken her eyes off of Ichirin.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! I got lost!” Rumia whined some more. She squirmed and tried to push away from Seija, but Seija held on tight.

“You bit Kyouko!” Murasa said.

“She smelled so good! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Rumia whimpered. “I won’t do it again! I’m sorry!”

Byakuren sighed.

“Rumia, do you promise you won’t run if Seija puts you down?”

“YES! PUT ME DOWN!” Rumia cried.

Byakuren looked at Seija and nodded.

Seija dragged her eyes off Ichirin, and brought them to Byakuren. She slowly turned Rumia right side up and placed her on the ground.

Rumia panted and clutched her chest.

“Scary! You chased me!” Rumia stomped her foot and looked at Ichirin and Murasa.

“You ran!” Murasa said.

Kyouko appeared in the doorway Ichirin had come from. She frowned when she saw Rumia, and hid behind Ichirin.

Rumia just blinked at her.

“You should apologize to Kyouko for biting her, Rumia.” Byakuren nodded.

“Sorry I bit you, dog girl.” Rumia said.

Kyouko peeked out from behind Ichirin and nodded slowly.

Ichirin lightly patted her on her head.

“Do you need someone to show you out?” Byakuren asked.

Rumia nodded.

“I thought I knew how, but I forgot.” She said.

Byakuren took a step forward and extended a hand to Rumia. Rumia took it apprehensively.

“Kyouko dear, I’ll take a look at that bite when I come back, ok?” Byakuen looked over at Kyouko.

Kyouko had taken a step out from behind Ichirin. She nodded slowly.

Byakuren gave her a gentle smile, and lead Rumia out of the temple.

 

* * *

 

_AN: Hey so I have 0 clue what's going on with the notes. They'll show up for me in some browsers but not in others so I have no idea what it looks like to you guys so I'm sorry if that's confusing to you (because it's confusing to me)_

_BUT Guess what? I hit the goal for NaNoWriMo! That's super exciting! Thank you for supporting me with this, really it gives me a lot of motivation to keep writing because I'm a fucking child and I need confirmation that my efforts aren't just for nothing._

_With the end of NaNoWriMo, I'm going to take a few days before I actually continue on with this. So, the next chapter will be a few days late. I've been posting on Mondays, which is great because I have the weekend to edit, but I think the next chapter might just end up being posted on like Wednesday or Thursday. Heck it might just be held off to the next Monday if I can't get things done, but it will be up. I'm too invested in this story to let it just die like that. I really want to finish it, it's just my own fault for dragging it on like this. I just wanted to squeeze out as much of what was in my head into this because I NEED people to understand how I feel about Seija and the rest of the Myouren fam. But I also need a few days off to cool off my brain from constantly working on this like I've been doing for the past month_

_Anyway, thank you so much again_

_  
Usual shout outs to Purvis, Aaron, Chris, Noe,Toad, and you [ winks]  thank you guys so much ~_

 

 


	5. Part 5

When morning came Byakuren found, for once, she wasn’t the first person awake.

The sounds of a distant conversation carried over to her room as she opened her eyes. She rolled over onto her back, and pulled her blanket up over her shoulders.

The dawn’s pale light shone through her window. The faint pink light it cast onto the wooden floor glared up into her face. She squinted and rolled over again.

The muffled conversation sounded like it was made up by two individuals.

She yawned, and tried to pick out who could be awake this early in the morning.

Her multicolored hair flared out over her pillow in thick curls.

A cloud moved aside from the morning sun, and a ray cast down onto the golden ends of her locks. They shone faintly in the light.

She strained her ears to listen to the voices. One was low and gravely. This voice was talking excitedly about something.

There was a lull in the conversation, and the voice turned into a laugh.

The second voice was higher and talked a bit more slowly.

Byakuren realized that it was Nue and Mamizou talking. She sat up at this revelation.

Those two never woke up this early. They had probably stayed up all night. This wasn’t all that unusual. But, the fact that they were talking so loudly, though, was a little worrying. Usually when those two were this rowdy this early, they were either intoxicated or up to something.

Byakuren hurried out of bed, and rushed to find them.

The temple’s halls were quiet and dark at this hour. Her footsteps pattered against the floorboards and echoed slightly off of the thin walls.

Byakuren listened for where the voices were coming from.

Luckily for her, Mamizou and Nue weren’t very hard to find.

Unfortunately for her, they were, as she feared, up to something.

She found them out front.

The sky blushed with with the sun rising in the East. Pink wispy clouds stretched lazily across the horizon. The fall’s crisp air brushed her messy bangs out of her face.

Mamizou and Nue were at the bottom of the stairs. Nue was sitting on a type of strange black thing. It resembled the type of bike Byakuren was accustomed to. It had two wheels, a kickstand, and handlebars. But, unlike any other bike she had seen, it looked thick and gaudy. There were pipes and boxes on it. She couldn’t even imagine their functions, but she knew this was definately something from the outside world. She could recognize a motor when she saw one even. The bike-like thing glinted in the sunlight. Its paint was rusted and smudged, but it still put up a good show in the dawn’s light.

Byakuren gaped and slowly made her way down the stairs to meet them.

Nue gave her a nervous smile as Byakuren approached.

“Hey there.” She said slowly. Her wings drooped.

Beside her, Mamizou folded her arms and chuckled to herself.

Byakuren vaguely noticed that the both of them were dressed as if they had stayed out all night.

Nue had on that beaten brown jacket Ichirin had gotten for her a few falls ago. It was worn through, torn, and haphazardly patched up. The jacket was not zipped up. Underneath it, Byakuren could see Nue was either wearing a new tight crop top or Nue had ditched the shirt concept all together and had just opted to wear only her black bra. Nue’s torn jean’s high waist reached up to her stomach. Their thick navy waistband dug lightly into her ivory skin with each breath.

Mamizou, on the other hand, was dressed as if she had been under a human disguise all evening. She was too wearing a brown jacket. Her jacket, however, had held up better. It was thin and long enough to reach down past her knees. Beneath her jacket, she had on a thick pair of tan ankle high boots. She had on a pair of loose fitting white pants. The light fabric of her bottoms clashed heavily with the browns she was wearing. So much so, it was reasonably likely that she had used some kind of magic to get them so pristine. Her usual messy hair was brushed back and smoothed down a bit. It was hard to tell in the light, but it almost looked like she had a thin layer of lipstick on. Whether or not this lipstick was hers or someone else’s was a bit hard to tell. But judging by how cleaned up she was this morning, it was safe to assume the latter.

Byakuren would have given the two of them very suspicious looks if she hadn’t had her eyes glued on whatever that contraption was that Nue was sitting on.

“What is that?” Byakuren said as she reached the foot of the steps.

Nue shrugged.

“A bike.” She said.

Mamizou grinned and shifted her weight onto her other foot.

“What kind of bike? That’s from the outside world isn’t it? Where did you manage to find that Nue?” Byakuren frowned.

“‘Course it’s from the outside world!” Nue said scratching her chin. “And I got it from Rinnosuke.”

“Why on Earth would you want that?”

“Well, ok,” Nue took her hands off the handlebar and put them up defensively. “It’s kind of a long story. But believe me. You’re going to be glad I got it.”

“I’m… somewhat doubtful.” Byakuren admitted.

Nue chuckled and shook her head.

“Well... Okay! so there I was walking back from Youkai Mountain-”

“Why were you on Youkai Mountain?” Byakuren frowned.

“That’s another story! But, anyway, there I was, walking back from Youkai Mountain. I happen to pass Rinnosuke’s place. Know who’s there? Marisa Kirisame. Know what else is there? This bike. Know what she was trying to do? Buy it! She was trying to talk Rinnosuke into selling it to her.” Nue nodded sagely.

Byakuren just sighed.

“But,” Nue continued, “I’m sure you’ve heard about what Marisa did up in the Tengu Village with that magic carpet she bought from Rinnosuke. So, of course he’s not just gonna go and sell her it. Who knows what she would do with it. So I’m curious, right? So I head on over and I talk to them… And, well, out of the goodness of my heart I bought this bike so Marisa couldn’t get her hands on it and almost start another war.” Nue grinned.

Byakuren sighed and put her head in her hands.

“If Kirisame wanted it, do you really think that it’s not jinxed or something?”

“Oh, no, no. She just wanted it so bad because the thing actually runs!” Nue said.

“Runs?” Byakuren frowned.

“Turn it on.” Mamizou snickered.

“I mean, sure, it really needs some work. But…” Nue said as she fished around in her pocket for something. She pulled out a key and stuck it in the bike.

The bike roared to life. Its rumble echoed off the nearby trees. The birds rose from their branches and flew away in clouds of chaos.

Byakuren flinched back and put a hand over her chest.

Nue grinned up at her devilishly.

“Like it?” Nue said, her voice was drowned out almost entirely by the motor.

“It’s scary! You’re going to wake everyone in the temple up!” Byakuren cried over the noise.

“What?” Nue called back.

“Too loud!” Byakuren shouted.

Mamizou cackled to herself.

“Turn it off!” Byakuen cried.

Nue pouted.

“Wait! I gotta show you how it runs!” She said as she did something and the rumble suddenly got louder. One of the wheels started spinning, and smoke pooled out from behind it.

Byakuren wondered if it was on fire, but Nue didn’t seem alarmed by this.

Suddenly, the front wheel started spinning with a screech.

It splashed a large wave of mud up against both Mamizou and Byakuren’s legs.

Nue gave a guilty grin, and abruptly turned off the motor when she saw the look on Mamizou’s face.

“Sorry, sorry.” Her voice was awkwardly too loud as if she were still trying to talk over the bike’s roar. “I need to get a handle on driving it.”

Byakuren frowned and looked down at her dirty pajama bottoms. She sighed.

“I don’t want you driving that thing until I know you won’t hurt yourself.” She said as she folded her arms.

Nue groaned.

“But… I already drove it here…”

“Yeah,” Mamizou snorted. “You shoulda seen her trying to get up the hill.”

Nue pouted some more.

“Hey, cut me some slack, I just got it!”

“Exactly.” Byakuren said. “I just don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“I’m not gonna hurt myself!” Nue huffed. “I’m not a little kid!”

“But you have no experience with this kind of thing! I’m just saying, you should practice with it before you go out into town… And it does look like it needs work… Maybe one of the kappas could help you out there…”

“And how am I gonna get it to the kappa village if I can’t drive it, huh?” Nue frowned.

Mamizou cackled to herself again and shook her head. She fished around in her sleeve and pulled out her pipe.

“Well… I’m not sure, maybe one could come here.” Byakuren said.

Mamizou lit her pipe, took a long drag from it and puffed out a cloud of smoke above her head.

“Hijiri, why don’t you drive it?” She winked.

“I don’t think I should.” Byakuren frowned.

“And why not?” Mamizou said as she breathed some more smoke out her nose. “Ain’t that the easiest way?”

“I can think of a handful of simpler solutions.” Byakuren said.

Mamizou let out a shrill cackle.

“Dang, the thought of you riding something like that…” She took a deep inhale from her pipe, “It puts a smile on my face.” She smirked. The sunlight made her glasses glare pink.

Byakuren sighed and looked back over at Nue.

“Maybe we can talk about this after breakfast…” She said.

Nue just frowned more at her words.

“Yeah, yeah.” Nue grumbled. She got off the bike and began wheeling away.

Byakuren and Mamizou watched her for a few moments as she did so. Then, Mamizou turned to Byakuren. She was still smirking.

“Well, I’m going to change out of this.” She nodded down to her previously white pants.

Byakuren frowned and looked down at her own mud covered pants.

“You’re pretty good at getting into that amanojaku’s room. Think you can pull it off now?”

“I might be able to… But I’m not sure how much of a morning person she is…”

At these words, Mamizou cackled some more.

“Well,” Mamizou put her hand on Byakuren’s shoulder and started leading her back into the temple. “I’ll meet you there.”

“Mm…” Byakuren nodded slowly.

The two made their way inside and split up to go respectively to their own rooms to change out of their sullen clothing.

Byakuren came out dressed in a clean outfit made up of a moss colored hippari and monpei. She carried her dirty pajamas with her.

She found Mamizou waiting down the hallway.

Mamizou had her dirty outfit tucked under her arm, and had changed into a clean maroon skirt with a thick woolen grey sweater. She had since put out her pipe. Byakuren always requested that she not smoke inside the temple. She gave Byakuren a small toothy smile when she saw her.

“Ready to test your luck, Hijiri?” Mamizou more of said than asked.

“I suppose… Do you want me to wash those for you? I’m not sure how she’ll react to two of us in there at once.”

Mamizou shrugged and handed Byakuren he clothing.

“I won’t object to that.” She chuckled. “Want me to start on breakfast then?”

“Oh,” Byakuren blinked. “You’re not heading back to bed?”

“Nah, I’ve been running around all night. Worked up an appetite.”

“Oh? Where were y-” Byakuren was cut off as Mamizou placed her hands on her shoulders and spun her around.

“No, your innocent little heart doesn’t need to know that.” Mamizou chuckled and pushed her forward. “Holler if you need any back up. We don’t need another bite victim in this home.” Mamizou laughed.

Byakuren frowned and moved forward as Mamizou removed her hands from Byakuren’s shoulders.

“I’ll keep an ear out.” Mamizou said before disappearing into the other room.

Byakuren frowned after her for a moment, before heading forward towards Seija’s room.

She found herself standing in front of the laundry room door.

She listened, but it was quiet inside.

Byakuren took in a deep breath, then knocked.

There was no response.

Everyday since that first morning, Seija had attended breakfast. That meant she stayed in the temple all night, right? Byakuren wondered as she knocked again, this time a little louder.

There was a rustling noise from inside.

“Seija…?” Byakuren called.

There was a surprised small bump. Byakuren blinked at the noise.

The next instant, the door opened, Seija stood in its frame looking frazzled.

Her hair was stuck up at strange angles; her horns were barely visible underneath its mess. Her face was, paler than usual. Around her eyes were red circles. Byakuren wondered if she had possibly been crying. She frowned as her train of thought was stopped with this possibility.

Seija just glared up at her.

“What do you want?”

“Oh, um…” Byakuren motioned to the dirty laundry in her hands. “Would it be ok if I just popped in quickly?”

Seija groaned.

“You know, some people are trying to sleep.”

“Well… this is the room all the laundry materials are in…”

“It’s MY room!” Seija growled. She moved as if she were about to slam the door, but Byakuren took a small step forward. Seija froze.

“I understand it is. That’s why I’m asking permission to just do this quickly… I swear I won’t be loud and keep you up…”

Seija sighed and folded her arms.

She eyed Byakuren up and down for a few long moments.

Byakuren in turn, silently blinked at Seija’s face. It was hard to tell with her dark skin, but her complexion looked just a bit blotchy.

Seija sighed, this sound dragged Byakuren out of her thoughts.

“Fine.” She said as she turned on her heels. She collapsed into her futon, and wrapped her comforter up around her shoulders. She rolled over, and buried her face in her pillow.

Byakuren stepped inside and made her way over towards the washer tub.

She filled it and glanced over at Seija as she put the dirty clothes into it.

“Seija?”

“Didn’t you just say you would be quiet?”

“Yes, but, I was wondering, if you wanted me to do some of your laundry as well?” Byakuren asked slowly.

Seija rolled over and sat up with this. She still had the comforter wrapped around her shoulders. The bulk of the blanket gave her thin shoulders some mass.

Seija nodded in the direction of the corner.

Byakuren looked over and saw there was a small pile of Seija’s clothes there. Byakuren could see that amongst the pile was her white dress, still crusted with dried mud.

Byakuren moved over towards it, and kneeled down to begin sorting through it.

Seija groaned.

Byakuren looked over at her.

“Something wrong?”

“Can’t you just throw them all in at once?” She huffed.

“No, no.” Byakuren chuckled lightly. “They might run.”

“So what?”

“So, you don’t want everything you own to be pink do you?” Byakuren asked as she held up one of Seija’s red jackets.

Seija just pouted.

“You’re so annoying.” She let the comforter drop from her shoulders a bit.

Byakuren noticed she was wearing a white top.

“Oh, what you have on now…” Byakuren said quietly.

“What about it?” Seija asked as she glanced down.

“It’s white. Do you want me to wash it now with the other lights?”

Seija rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth as if she were going to say something snarky, but closed it again when she apparently drew a blank.

Apparently Seija really wasn’t a morning person.

Instead of a witty comeback, she just shot a cold glare over at Byakuren.

Byakuren smiled back.

“If not, I could come back later and-”

“Ugh fine.” Seija said as she began tugging it off. “If it’ll keep you out of my hair.”

The white shirt Seija had on was a button down flannel, but she tugged it over her head instead. Byakuren wondered if she always took that kind of way around things.

As the pajama top was lifted up her head, it apparently got snagged on one of her small horns. She wiggled attempting to get it unstuck.

Underneath the white, Byakuren saw Seija was wearing a black undershirt. It was a black tank top. The tank top was lifted slightly as it was brought up with the white pajama top. Seija’s dark olive stomach was visible.

Byakuren caught sight of a light splotch contrasting against the dark.

On Seija’s side, there was a very large pale gash. Byakuren recognized this as a fading wound. The edges of the pale spot were starting to darken into the rest of her skin, but towards the center it got paler and paler to almost the shade of her own skin. In the very center was a dark dried scab about the size of her pinky.

Seija finally managed to tug the white top off. She yanked it over her head, the black top underneath rose just a bit more, but Byakuren could see no more wounds.

Seija’s hair puffed up a bit with the friction it had experienced. She began patting it down, but stopped when her eyes landed on Byakuren looking at her side.

Seija lowered her eyes to where Byakuren’s rested, and yanked down her black top with a grunt. She shot a very nasty look at Byakuren as she threw her white top over to her.

Byakuren was surprised with this movement, and wasn’t able to catch it. The top fell to the ground two feet away from her. She silently picked it up.

“Seija…” Byakuren said quietly.

Seija just tugged the comforter back around her, and continued to glare at Byakuren.

“Are you ok?” Byakuren asked slowly.

“Go to hell.” Seija spat.

“Can I just have a look at it?” Byakuen frowned.

“Keep your fucking hands off me, monk.”

“I just want to make sure you’re healing alrig-”

“I said no!” Seija shouted. Her voice echoed off the walls.

Byakuren flinched and frowned.

Seija just continued to glower back at her.

The room fell silent.

“I’m sorry…” Byakuren said at last after a few long moments of silence. “I’m sorry. I’m worried about you, but if it makes you uncomfortable I won’t approach you.” Byakuren said as she brought her eyes back down to the pile of clothes.

She began sorting through them again.

“You should’ve had that mindset the first time you met me.” Seija grumbled. Her voice was softer now. So much so, that it caught Byakuren a little off guard.

Byakuren glanced back over at her.

Seija’s eyes had dropped. Her face was oddly blank.

Byakuren gave her the biggest smile she could muster.

“You’re right.” Byakuren said.

Seija glanced up at her. She looked almost startled.

“I should have been more gentle.” Byakuren said. “But, I’m glad things worked out this way, aren’t you?”

Seija didn’t respond. She just stared back at Byakuren. Her lips had parted slightly. Her red eyes were wide.

“After all, I don’t even want to imagine what my life would be like without you in it now. You’re part of the family now.” Byakuren gave her a warm smile.

Seija’s brows just furrowed. She looked as if she was trying to find words, but couldn’t.

“And that’s why,” Byakuren’s smile flickered a bit, “Well, that’s why I’m worried about that wound of yours. Because I love you.” Byakuren said.

Seija closed her mouth, and pressed her lips firmly together. She glanced off to the side, and laid back down in her futon.

“Didn’t you say you weren’t going to take very long?” Seija grumbled.

Byakuren chuckled and nodded.

“You’re right. Sorry.” Byakuren said as she continued to sort through the laundry.

She heard sheets rustling, and looked over to see Seija had turned her back to her.

Byakuren saw movement out of the corner of her eye, and looked up to see Mamizou had appeared in the doorway.

The tanuki leaned against the frame, eyeing Seija’s futon curiously.

“Need any help in here, Hirji?” Mamizou asked.

Seija tensed at her voice.

“No, no. Everything’s alright.” Byakuren smiled.

Mamizou frowned a bit.

“That kid giving you trouble? I heard shouting.”

“No,” Byakuren said again, “We’re fine, really.” Byakuren gave her a small smile.

Mamizou eyed her, then shrugged.

“If you say so.” She pushed herself off the doorframe, and disappeared down the hall.

Byakuren listened to Mamizou’s footsteps get quieter as she continued sorting through the clothes.

At last, she finally managed to get them into color coordinated piles.

She brought the lights into her arms, and moved back over to the washer tub to dump them in.

They hit the water with a dull splash.

She saw Seija flinch with this noise.

“Were you dozing?” Byakuren asked distractedly as she ran the clothing through the water.

“Why the hell would anyone fall asleep with you in the room?” Seija grumbled back. “You have a reputation for kidnapping people.”

Byakuren gave a chuckle.

“I’m sorry, my child.” She said as she pressed Seija’s muddy dress deep into the water.

“Stupid monk…” Seija yawned and stretched a bit.

“See, today you’re off to a good start… Early start, clean clothes, and Mamizou is cooking. Have you ever had her food? It’s delicious.” Byakuren beamed to herself.

“Bet it has hair in it.” Seija said.

“Mamizou is a very clean woman.” Byakuren chuckled. “And she takes care of her shedding in a very quick and clean manner.”

“She shaves it?” Seija gave a dry chuckle.

“No, no.” Byakuren chuckled back. “She just brushes all the loose hair out. She’s very good about that. So you don’t need to worry.”

“A hairy breakfast is just what I’d expect from a hellhole like this.” Seija shrugged.

Byakuren laughed hard at this.

“You’re funny.” She said as she measured out some soap.

“It’s not supposed to be a joke, monk.” Seija said. She sounded annoyed.

“Ah…” Byakuren couldn’t quite push the smile out of her voice.

Seija lifted her head off the pillow and glanced over her shoulder to look at Byakuren.

“My suffering is a joke to you?” She asked.

Byakuren snorted.

Seija growled.

“I’m sorry.” Byakuren giggled. “I don’t mean to laugh at that.”

“Then stop it already!” Seija grunted.

“I’m trying.” Byakuren said breathlessly.

“Try harder!”

Byakuren giggled harder at these words.

“I’m going to kick you out if you don’t shut up!” Seija shouted.

“Okay, okay!” Byakuren had to hold her breath to stifle her giggles.

Seija watched her closely.

It took a bit of an effort to not crack under her gaze, but Byakuren managed.

Soon, she had finished up the first load. She moved them aside as she started silently on the second load.

Halfway through this one, Mamizou came in to collect the wet clothes to hang to dry.

Seija eyed Mamizou cautiously as she did so.

Mamizou brushed this off, and continued on without even bothering to acknowledge her.

Time passed, Byakuren finished up.

She glanced down at Seija.

Seija was still bundled up in her futon. At some point during Byakuren working, she had apparently fallen asleep.

Byakuren eyed her silently.

Seija’s thick black eyelashes twitched lightly against her cheeks.

Byakuren wondered what she was dreaming about.

Seija’s forehead was smooth, and her face was relaxed. A sight Byakuren wasn’t accustomed to.

She stood there, and quietly watched her for a few long moments.

Then, quietly, she made her way out of the room, closing the door silently behind her.

 

* * *

 

The days began to pass more smoothly. Just about as smoothly as they could pass with an amanojaku living in the temple.

Before long, the Autumn Festival snuck up just like it always did.

This inevitably lead to the panic that was always associated with it.

The temple had been hurriedly decorated in a day. A booth was also constructed to be set up in town.

Ichirin and Mamizou had apparently taken care of the T-shirt issue, and had vehemently insisted that Byakuren “not worry about it.” Which in itself was a very hard thing to do, especially when on the night before the festival, Mamizou and Ichirin were still hurrying along to get last minute things finished

This apparently reminded Kyouko that she needed to finish her own T-shirt, which lead to another trip down to the human village to get supplies.

Byakuren found herself hunched over a table, with Kyouko breathing down her neck as she carefully inked in the lettering onto the shirt.

The shirt itself was a plain black T-Shirt. White and green ink had been purchased to decorate it with.

Byakuren was fairly comfortable with her calligraphy skill, but with a yamabiko threateningly close to her ear, it was a very stressful situation. Byakuren found herself nervously inking in the Choujuu Gigaku’s logo.

Kyouko had her hands on Byakuren’s shoulders, and was leaning in inches from Byakuren’s cheek as she watched Byakuren’s every move.

Byakuren knew it was best to keep safe distance between her eardrums and Kyouko, but Kyouko had insisted on hovering there so she could “supervise.”

Byakuren had gotten to the middle of the word Gigaku when she heard the door slide open.

She didn’t dare look up. Instead, she quickly zoomed through the rest of the word.

Kyouko made a small delighted noise, as the lettering was finished. She quickly pushed herself off of Byakuren’s shoulders.

Byakuren breathed out a sigh of relief as she scooted over so Kyouko could take her place.

“I like how it thins out right there…” Kyouko said pointing to half a character. “It’ll look cool with the design I’m planning.” She grinned and looked over at Byakuren. “Thanks!” She shouted.

Byakuren grinned despite her ringing ears.

“Happy to help.” She said, then glanced up at who was standing in the doorway.

Mamizou was standing in it with a dangerous smirk on her face.

Byakuren frowned a bit.

Mamizou just chuckled.

“What’s that look for Hijiri?” She asked tilting her head a bit. Her tail swayed absently behind her.

“What’s that look for?” Byakuren asked carefully.

Mamizou’s smirk widened as she moved into the room and had a seat across from them.

“I’m just in a good mood.” Mamizou shrugged. “Can’t I be in a good mood?”

“But why are you in a good mood?” Byakuren frowned. She idly glanced down at Kyouko.

Kyouko had taken to mixing some of the green and white to make it a very jarring lime color that popped out against the black of the shirt. She had started lightly making outlines of something Byakuren could safely assume was most likely a skull.

“We finished those shirts.” Mamizou shrugged. “Kid, you shoulda started yours sooner.” Mamizou said as she propped her chin up in her hand.

Kyouko huffed and stuck her tongue out in response.

“Feels good to know you’ve got a nice full night of sleep ahead’ve ya.” Mamizou snickered. “And you have that performance tomorrow too…”

“I work well under pressure.” Kyouko said as she ran a brush through the lime color and dragged it haphazardly across the shirt. “It makes me focus more.”

“Is that what you call it?” Mamizou asked as she took off her glasses and wiped them off on her shirt.

“It is.” Kyouko said with a nod. Her ears flapped with the motion.

Byakuren shifted and brought her eyes back up to Mamizou’s face.

“So, can I see one of the shirts?” Byakuren asked.

“What? No, no. It’s a surprise, Hijiri.” Mamizou grinned widely. Her fangs peeked out from between her lips. “But you can trust me, they’re great.”

“Hmm…” Byakuren wrung her hands together. “Well…”

“Plus, Ichirin was working with me, you can at least trust that she wouldn’t let me put something scandalous on them, right?”

Byakuren nodded at these words.

Besides her, Kyouko had made great progress on her green skull. She began adding details with white.

Byakuren frowned, it was starting to look a bit gorey.

“You shoulda seen the tengu.” Mamizou snorted. “They had to-”

“You went to the tengu?” Byakuren frowned.

“Oh, yeah, we weren’t going to hand paint 150 shirts.”

“W-what…” Byakuren frowned. “Why did you have so many?”

“Well, Ichirin did say she bought extra, didn’t she?” Mamizou shrugged. “We can hand them out.” She brought her eyes over to Kyouko, and put her glasses back on. “Or we could ask this one to throw them into the crowd during her show.”

“I’ll be too busy playing.” Kyouko said distractedly as she began drawing something that definitely was starting to look like a snake.

“What did the tengu do, though?” Byakuren asked as she dragged her eyes away from the shirt.

Mamizou cackled.

“They printed directly on them. Man, Hijiri, You shoulda seen them trying to find the right characters. They almost wrote King of Eyes. I’d think they were illiterate if I didn’t know any better.”  Mamizou laughed hard at this.

Byakuren frowned as she thought.

“But… Wait, are you using my last name on the shirts?” Byakuren asked.

Mamizou looked a little taken aback by these words.

“What?” She gave a nervous little chuckle, “Your last name? Why would you ask that…?”

“Well both king and eye show up in it…”

“Hijiri, Hijiri…” Mamizou laughed. “You, uh, well let’s just not spoil anything ok? Trust me, you’ll love it.” One of Mamizou’s ears twitched.

Byakuren frowned, but did not say anything.

Instead, she brought her eyes back down to Kyouko’s shirt.

That was definitely a snake, it seemed to be forming out of one of the words and wrapping around the skull’s base. Kyouko had also apparently decided to make the snake covered in spikes for some reason.

Kyouko glanced up to meet Byakuren’s gaze.

“Do you like it?” She asked, smiling widely.

Byakuren paled.

Mamizou shifted forward to get a better look at how it was coming out.

“Well, it’s definitely very interesting.” Byakuren said sheepishly.

Kyouko’s eyes lit up. Her grin widened even more.

“Yeah! That’s what I was going for! Something eye catching!” She gushed happily before turning back to add even more spikes to the snake.

“Looks good, kid.” Mamizou nodded.

“Thanks Mamizou.” Kyouko nodded.

“Oh, but that space right there is empty.” Mamizou said as she pointed to the upper left hand portion of the shirt with a particularly empty black spot.

“Oh,” Kyouko squinted her eyes. “You might be right... “ She tilted her head. “What to add there…”

“Why not another skull?” Mamizou shrugged.

“No, no, it’d look too small next to the other one.”

“What about a flower…?” Byakuren suggested.

“Oh!” Kyouko’s face lit up. “Like a dead rose! Wait, how do you even draw that…?”

“You just draw a stick.” Mamizou said. “And say all the petals fell off.”

“That’s stupid! Then it’s just a stick!” Kyouko waved the brush in Mamizou’s direction. A glob of lime paint threatened to drip off, but it held on for dear life.

“You’re the one who asked how to draw it!” Mamizou cackled and smacked the table with her palm several times.

“I’ll ask Ichirin.” Kyouko said as she got to her feet. “She knows what she’s talking about!”

“I do too!” Mamizou said, still grinning ear to ear.

Kyouko just huffed and trotted out of the room.

Byakuren and Mamizou watched as she exited. Mamizou brought her gaze back over to Byakuren after a few moments.

“So, you’re an extra large, right?” She said as her eyes moved down Byakuren’s torso.

Byakuren looked down.

“Hm, I guess it depends on the shirt’s shape.” She said.

The door opened, and Byakuren almost didn’t glance up, as she assumed it was Kyouko.

But, to her surprise, she didn’t see Kyouko’s green hair out of the corner of her eye. Instead, she saw black.

She looked up to see Seija standing in the doorway. Her lips were pressed tight together in a frown, and her brow was furrowed.

“Oh,” Byakuren blinked, “Hello, dear!” She beckoned her in.

Mamizou turned around to get a look at Seija.

Seija eyed Mamizou nervously and stepped inside.

Seija had remained her usual quiet and reserved self over the past few days. At least she had started leaving the laundry room door unlocked when she was out though.

Mamizou leaned back on her elbow silently as she watched Seija move into the room.

Seija kept her eyes on Mamizou as well.

To Byakuren’s surprise, Seija had a seat next to her.

Byakuren gave her a friendly grin.

“How are you?”

“Is that dog going to be so damn loud all night?” Seija grunted and folded her arms.

“Oh…” Byakuren’s smile fell a bit.

Mamizou had sat up straight again. She narrowed her eyes at Seija.

Seija glanced momentarily at Mamizou, then brought her eyes flatly back on Byakuren.

“She does like to… be thorough with her band shirt, yes. It might be a loud night.”

“Great.” Seija sighed. Her bangs fell in front of her eyes.

“Suck it up.” Mamizou said.

Seija shot a glare at her.

Seija opened her mouth to say something, but her voice was drowned out by Kyouko’s.

Kyouko made her way back into the room, grumbling so loudly the ink containers on the table rattled. The liquid inside them rippled and sloshed against their sides.

“Ichirin doesn’t know.” Kyouko grumbled as she sank down to her seat beside Byakuren again.

“I’m sorry.” Byakuren frowned.

“How hard could it be, huh?” Kyouko said as she picked up the brush again.

She hovered the bristle’s just inches above the fabric’s surface as she hesitated, then groaned and put it back into the ink container again. “I don’t know how to do it…” Her ears roomed. She glanced over at Byakuren. “Do you know how to…” Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of Seija sitting on the other side of Byakuren. She paled a bit. “Nevermind…” She brought her gaze back down onto the shirt.

“I guess I could always try to draw another skull…” Kyouko said, sounding very defeated. “Or maybe another snake… Those are cool.”

“Snake?” Seija said quietly.

Everyone brought their eyes to her.

She pouted a bit, and brought her eyes down to the shirt.

“Yeah,” Kyouko said cautiously. “Like here.” She said pointing to the previous snake she had drawn.

Seija tilted her head a bit, a bit of blood had rushed to her cheeks.

“Snakes are overused.” She said.

Kyouko’s face fell at these words. She looked down at the shirt abashedly.

“...So, just make it a hydra.” Seija continued. “Those are better.”

Kyouko’s eyes lit up again. She squinted at the shirt, as she considered this.

“That’s a great idea!” Kyouko’s voice boomed.

Byakuren had to resist covering her aching ears.

“I didn’t think about that!” Kyouko said as she ran the brush through the paint again. “But, that’ll be so cool!” She looked up at Seija, positively beaming.

Seija blinked back awkwardly.

“Thanks.” Kyouko said.

Seija narrowed her eyes at her, but didn’t say anything.

“Mom!” Kyouko said, looking up at Byakuren, “Move over so Seija can help me!”

“Oh?” Byakuren blinked. She glanced over at Seija. “Would you volunteer your artistic ideas and time to help her?” She asked.

Seija sighed, and slowly nodded.

“Just move your fat ass, monk.”

 

* * *

 

Admittedly, having Seija’s help only slowed the  shirt making process down.

Seija’s “advice” wasn’t exactly that well received by Kyouko, as Seija would frequently switch between blatant insults and only somewhat helpful suggestions.

Byakuren had to place herself nearby to act as a type of translator to help Kyouko understand Seija’s words behind all her insults and lies.

Byakuren wasn’t exactly sure when she had become fluent in amanojaku speak, but her interpretation of Seija’s words apparently wasn’t too far off the mark, as Seija didn’t seem very opposed to them.

Mamizou had long ago excused herself from the table.

With her gone, it was just the three of them. Their voices filled the room (and Kyouko’s filled the temple).

The warm light of the lamp cast over them.

Outside the temple, the shadow of night hung weightlessly down. The air was chilled and frost lightly dusted the stillness of the outside world.  

The yellow lamplight pooled down out a window and landed on the dry grass outside. The frost sparkled vibrantly in its light, but the glittering colors were left unseen by the busy party inside.

It was getting uncomfortable having to sit for so long.

Byakuren’s back ached slightly as she leaned over the table. She put some of her weight on her elbows to alleviate the pain, but this only helped so much.

Both Kyouko and Seija had long ago given up sitting politely, and instead crossed their legs and slouched.

Seija had her face propped up in her hand. Her cheek was smushed up with the pressure. She looked boredly down at Kyouko’s work, and yawned.

It must have be nearing 2am.

Kyouko was busy adding details to the hydra. Some of the hydra’s spikes started to look like budding heads. Kyouko took to work to fix this issue by making her lines thicker.

“That one looks fish-eyed, stupid.” Seija said boredly.

“Which one?” Kyouko asked without glancing up.

“That one.”

“There’s a lot of that ones!” Kyouko pouted.

In total, Byakuren had counted fourteen heads. It was impressive how many Kyouko had managed to squeeze on there.

Seija shrugged and pointed to a head near the middle.

Kyouko stuck out her tongue and squinted at it.

“What do you mean fish-eyed?”

“It looks stupid, idiot.”

“Stupid idiot?” Kyouko furrowed her brow.

“Yeah. Stupid, idiot.” Seija nodded.

“I think what Seija is trying to say is the left pupil is curved, but the right one isn’t. See?” Byakuren said as she pointed.

Kyouko’s lips parted as she thought.

“Oh, I see it.” She nodded and brought the brush down to the fabric. She thickened both slit pupils so they were straight.

“Hows that?” She asked.

“Terrible.” Seija gave a hollow chuckle.

“Beautiful.” Byakuren beamed.

Seija glanced over at Byakuren from over Kyouko’s head.

Byakuren felt her gaze, and looked over to meet her eyes.

Seija glanced back down at the shirt abashedly.

“Aren’t you done yet?” Seija asked quietly.

Kyouko hesitated before adding two more spikes on the lowest head.

“You know, I think I am!” Kyouko grinned and looked up at Seija.

Seija looked flatly back at her.

Byakuren could faintly see Kyouko’s face reflecting in her red eyes. Seija’s forehead wrinkled a little.

“Thanks for your help!” Kyouko’s voice made the windows rattle.

Somewhere outside, a bird was woken. It gave a very confused chirp.

“So, are you finally gonna shut up then?” Seija said lamely. The wrinkle in her forehead grew a bit more.

“Sorry…” Kyouko turned back down to her shirt. “I just wanted it to be perfect! Now it’s gotta dry! Then it gets washed in cold water so everything sets!”

“Wait.” Seija frowned. “Washed? So you’re going to keep me up even longer?” Her volume started to increase threateningly.

“Now, now.” Byakuren gave her a weak smile. “Maybe we could figure this out… Do you perhaps want to spend the night in the room that was prepared for you?”

“No.” Seija responded so quickly Byakuren was taken aback slightly.

“Oh.” She sighed. “Well, ok. That’s fine too…” Byakuren glanced back down at the shirt. “Maybe we could rinse the shirt in a sink to let it set.”

“No way!” Kyouko whined. “What if it gets all wrinkled from being in a tiny little sink, huh?”

“Ah…” Byakuren frowned. “Well, I could always be extremely quiet when washing the shirt…”

“No.” Seija folded her arms. “You’re about as quiet as this dog here. You’ll just wake me up.”

“Ah… I’m sorry.” Byakuren frowned.

“Whatever.” Seija sighed through her nose and closed her eyes. “Since you assholes-”

“Seija…” Byakuren huffed.

Seija’s mouth hung open slightly, confused.

Byakuren nodded towards Kyouko.

“Since all you _jerks_ are so persistent on keeping me up, I won’t even try to sleep.” She scratched her chin. “It would just be a wasted effort.”

“Oh!” Kyouko grinned. “Since you’re gonna be staying up with us, let me practice in front of you. You’re the only one here who’s gonna give me negative feedback because you lie so much. I’ll need to practice taking the haters down!”

Seija looked startled by Kyouko’s words.

“Nobody hates you.” Byakuren frowned. “Who taught you to speak like that?”

“No, mom.” Kyouko said. “They only hate me ‘cuz they ain’t me.”

“...Was it Nue or Mamizou?” Byakuren frowned more.

Before Kyouko could answer, Seija made a noise that drew them both out of the conversation.

They glanced curiously over at her.

Seija was covering her mouth with one hand, and looking away. Her shoulders were shaking.

Byakuren’s blood went cold. Was she crying?

“Seija?” Kyouko peeped.

Seija turned a little more away, completely obscuring her face from view. Her shoulders shook even more violently.

There was a tense moment of silence as they gaped at her.

Then, Seija snorted.

Seija slammed her fist on the table so hard the ink containers jumped a half an inch in the air. Seija gasped for breath, then let out another long snort.

She was laughing.

Byakuren beamed.

“Damn!” Seija squaked between heavy giggles. “The stupid shit you say!” She laughed more openly now, her entire body shook.

She turned back, Byakuren caught sight of her face.

Seija had her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Her dark cheeks were blushing deeply. Her mouth was open and genuinely grinning. Her sharp teeth flashed in the warm light.

Seija wiped a few tears that had formed away with the back of her hand.

Beside her, Kyouko started giggling along. The small girl lightly slapped Seija’s shoulder.

This made Seija howl with even more laughter.

“You’re so stupid!” Seija said as she threw her head back and roar.

“Am not!” Kyouko giggled back. “Stop laughing!”

“I’m **not** laughing!”

“Are too!”

“Am not! Shut up!” Seija took in a few deep gulps of air as she calmed herself down to only chuckling. She had to wipe more tears out of her eyes.

“So stupid.” She muttered as she shook her head.

Byakuren continued to beam at her.

Seija glanced up, and met her gaze.

Seija tried to stifle down her grin, but it seemed she couldn’t.

Instead, she turned and looked away.

Byakuren saw her blush had spread to her pointed ears.

She practically melted.

Seija glanced back over at her for a moment, but when she saw the look on her face, she quickly averted her gaze again looking as if she regretted it.

Seija snorted and slammed her fist on the table again.

The ink containers shook dangerously, but didn’t leap this time.

“Hey, hey!” Kyouko huffed. She delicately took the shirt in her hands and lifted it off the table. “Enough, you’re gonna wreck it!” She turned to Byakuren. “I’m gonna hang it up to dry.”

“Make sure it doesn’t drip.” Byakuren said, her cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so much.

“Got it.” She nodded and turned back to Seija as she got to her feet. “Uh…” She blushed a bit.

Seija blinked flatly back at her.

Seija’s smile had fallen a bit, but her eyes still glinted happily.

“Can you stay here? I really do wanna practice in front of you… You’ve never heard me perform! It’ll be a treat for helping me out so much!”

“Eh?” Seija leaned back against the table a little. “I sacrifice time out of my busy day to help you play arts and crafts and you want to punish me by yowling my ear off?” She raised an eyebrow.

Kyouko pouted and looked down.

“Kyouko, dear,” Byakuren began, “I’m sure Seija would love to listen. But it is late, so maybe we could keep quiet so we don’t wake the rest of the temple up?”

“I can be quiet…” Kyouko said slowly.

“Good!” Byakuren smiled. “Then, by all means, we’ll be your audience… Right, Seija?”

Seija looked over at her looking taken aback.

“What?” She narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, like I’d love to spend my night making my ears ring more.”

“Good!” Kyouko giggled.

Seija gaped up at her.

“I’ll be back!” Kyouko said before disappearing out the door.

Seija turned back to Byakuren and folded her arms.

“I’m sorry for forcing you into this… But maybe just could you listen for one song? Kyouko can get nervous before shows… She needs a bit of support.” Byakuren said.

Seija just stared flatly back at her. Byakuren could see she was chewing on the inside of her lip.

“You know, as much as I love being forced into things like this.” Seija made to get up, but Byakuren put a hand on her shoulder.

“Please.” Byakuren frowned. “It would really mean the world to her…”

“Screw off.” Seija shrugged her hand off her shoulder.

“You know…” Byakuren smiled a bit, “In this kind of situation, it’s appropriate to have a few snacks… And I bought a box of strawberry candies from the outside world… Nue hasn’t finished them, so-”

Seija’s face lit up.

“Are they in the cupboard?”

“They are.”

Seija excitedly got to her feet.

“Could you maybe bring me a cup of tea?” Byakuren asked.

“What kin-” Seija cut herself off. “I mean, fuck you.” She hurried out of the room.

Byakuren smiled as she watched her go.

“Thank you!” She called and waved.

A few minutes passed, Byakuren waited where she was.

Her back really was starting to hurt from sitting like this. Maybe it would be best to move this little performance into a room with a nice soft couch.

Byakuren grimaced and rubbed at her lower back. It ached under her touch.

She sighed.

She could hear Kyouko approaching, she seemed to be talking to someone.

A few moments later, the door opened.

Kyouko and Seija stepped through it together, Kyouko clinging onto Seija’s arm.

To Byakuren’s surprise, Seija actually had a cup of tea with her, she looked as if she were having trouble carrying it with Kyouko on her arm.

Seija also had the box of strawberry candies in her mouth. Her sharp teeth indented through the cardboard. Tucked under her arm was a bag of chips.

Kyouko was also carrying a large box of cookies.

Kyouko beamed at Byakuren.

Seija just averted her gaze shyly.

“Welcome back.” Byakuren said warmly.

Kyouko hopped up and down, jerking Seija a little with the movement.

“Are you ready to hear me?”

“Mm, why don’t we head into the large family room?” Byakuren said as she stiffly got to her feet. “Nice cozy couches so we can relax during the show.”

“Ok!” Kyouko nodded and let go of Seija’s arm.

Seija looked relieved.

She took the box of candy out of her mouth with her newly freed hand.

Byakuren moved over to them.

“I can take that tea.” She said.

Seija huffed and took a step back.

“This is for me.” She said flatly.

“Oh?” Byakuren blinked.

“Yeah. I’m not your tea toting slave.” Seija said.

Kyouko looked up at her confused.

To make a point, Seija lifted the cup to her lips and took a long loud sip from it.

When she was finished, she swallowed hard, and let out a dramatic sigh.

“But,” Kyouko spoke up, “You left the hot water in the kettle. Mom, you can just make a second cup.”

“That water is for my refill!” Seija grunted. “So screw off!”

“You’re not gonna drink the entire thing!” Kyouko said as she tugged on Seija’s sleeve. “Come on, just let her have it. I wanna start.”

Seija looked down at her coldly, and took another sip of her tea.

“Whatever.” She said as she yanked her sleeve away from Kyouko and turned to leave.

Kyouko trotted after her happily.

Byakuren made her way out too, and after a quick stop to the kitchen for her own tea, she made her way into the family room where Seija and Kyouko were sitting.

The room was one of the larger sitting rooms in the temple.

In the center, was a half circle of over stuffed brown couches.

Seija was currently sitting near the center of the unfinished circle. Her thin body sank back into the soft cushions. She had her legs crossed and her feet tucked under her knees.

Next to her on one side, she had precariously balanced her cup of tea on the cushion. It was at a very dangerous angle looking as if any sudden movement would spill it. Byakuren held her breath as Kyouko took a few excited steps just a few feet away from it.

On Seija’s other side, she had stacked the bag of chips and box of cookies.

Apparently she had already finished off the box of candy. It lay on the ground a small space away from her, discarded with a few teeth marks in it.

Kyouko was pacing back and forth, hands folded dramatically behind her back. Her ears swayed as she nodded to some imaginary beat. She was apparently psyching herself up.

She turned, and caught sight of Byakuren.

“Oh! Good!” She said. Her voice bounced off of the green walls. “You’re here.”

Byakuren saw the tea in her cup ripple.

She saw Seija reach for her cup as well. Seija picked it up, and took a swig out of it.

Byakuren made her way into the room, and had a seat beside Seija where her cup had previously been placed.

Seija made a face, but didn’t say anything.

“Are you ready!?” Kyouko asked as she raised a hand excitedly over her head.

“Kyouko, dear.” Byakuren frowned.

“Oh? What?” Kyouko’s enthusiasm suddenly dropped to zero.

“Remember how you said you wouldn’t wake anyone up?”

“Oh, right.” Kyouko said in a whisper. “Sorry.”

“It’s ok.” Byakuren grinned.

“Are you ready!?” Kyouko whispered as she raised a hand excitedly over her head.

“Wait.” Seija said flatly.

“Oh? What?” Kyouko frowned.

Seija leaned over, and picked up the bag of chips that was beside her. She opened it, and shoved a handful of its contents into her mouth.

“Ok.”

“Are you ready!?” Kyouko whispered again as she raised a hand excitedly over her head.

“One moment!” Byakuren said quietly.

Kyouko looked very miffed.

“What now?”

Byakuren giggled and reached into the bag of chips.

Seija made a very aggravated noise.

Byakuren pulled out a few, and munched on them.

“Ok, now we’re ready.”

“Are you sure?” Kyouko tilted her head.

“Yes.”

“Ok!”

 

* * *

 

Kyouko’s mini performance went admittedly a bit awkwardly.

Instead of her usual singing voice, she had to whisper her lyrics. Albeit, it was still at the volume of a regular speaking voice to most people rather than anything quiet, she wasn’t able to hit the vocal ranges she usually could.

Still, she whisper-sang her heart out, and Byakuren and surprisingly enough Seija listened.

At the end she gave a very deep bow and thanked them grandly for their time, before plopping down between Byakuren and Seija.

Kyouko ravenously went after the cookies that Seija hadn’t gotten to, and gushed about how excited she was for some time before her words started coming out slower and quieter as she began to tucker out.

“Kyouko, dear.” Byakuren said softly as she brushed Kyouko’s bangs back.

“Mm..?” Kyouko glanced up at her.

“Don’t you think that shirt should be finished drying about now?”

“Oh? Oh…! Yeah, I think.” Kyouko said with a shrug. She nuzzled back into the couch. She hit the cushion on an angle, and ended up nuzzling up against Seija’s arm.

Seija blinked down at her coldly.

Kyouko seemed like she didn’t notice this. She just relaxed more and let her head fall back onto Seija’s shoulder with a loud yawn.

“Where did you put it, dear? Do you want me to rinse it for you?”

“Mmm, yeah.” Kyouko nodded. “I hung it on the laund- I mean, Seija’s door.” She nodded sluggishly.

Seija shifted a bit under her. Kyouko didn’t respond.

Byakuren gave them both a warm smile before slowly getting to her feet.

“I’ll be right back.” Byakuren said.

“Remember, cold water.” Kyouko nodded.

“Right. I will.” Byakuren smiled. She turned, and exited the room.

Byakuren found the shirt where Kyouko had said it would be.

She collected it, and headed inside the Seija’s room.

Inside was dark. There was a small lamp in the corner, but it was not lit.

Byakuren decided against hassling with it, her youkai eyes would work well enough in this light.

She made her way over to the washer tub, and turned the faucet on. She brought her hand under the water and tested its temperature.

It was lukewarm.

She turned the cold water up, and waited for it to cool.

The water fell heavily into the tub. Byakuren put her hand under the water again, it was cold enough. She let the tub fill.

From here, she could not hear Kyouko’s voice.

Either Kyouko was being particularly quiet, or she wasn’t speaking at all.

Byakuren giggled at the thought of her falling asleep on Seija’s shoulder like that. She could picture it clearly in her head. She tried to pick out the details so she could remember it again sometime in the future when she needed a smile.

As she waited for the tub to fill, she glanced around Seija’s room.

Seija didn’t have many personal belongings aside from her clothes which were kept folded (by Byakuren) in a neat little basket. Seija’s futon was messy and unmade. The pillow was halfway down it. Byakuren wondered if Seija tossed in her sleep.

The window along the wall let moonlight in. The rays fell onto the cold water’s surface as it rose. The ripples glittered in the darkness.

Byakuren brought her attention back to the tub, and turned off the water.

She placed the shirt inside. It soaked up the water quickly, and sank to the bottom.

Byakuren stirred it in the tub with her hands. They were beginning to numb.

Her fingers brushed against the fabric of the shirt. It almost felt like seaweed. it vaguely reminded her of the night she met Murasa.

She closed her eyes as she lazily ran the shirt through the water.

She thought back to that night, she remembered it well. She could almost recall the scent of the saltwater, but not quite.

Now there was only the scent of the room she was in.

Soap that smelled like some vague type of wildflower, the bitter ink of the shirt, and the smell of Seija.

Seija’s scent was always partially masked by the soap of the temple, but underneath that it always lingered.

Byakuren didn’t have an especially strong nose like some youkai did, but it was much stronger than it had been when she was human.

She could pick out the smells of different species and different people.

Byakuren had never met an amanojaku aside from Seija, so she couldn’t tell if her scent resembled that of her kind, or if it was of her own person.

Seija always smelled a bit like mud and cut wood. At first, Byakuren thought the mud smell was from being covered in it from that rainy night when they met, but it had lingered and lingered after every bath. It hung on her every garment. It wasn’t exactly a bad smell, just different.

As for the woody scent she carried, Byakuren was particularly fond of the smell of oak and mahogany. It was pleasant.

By now, Byakuren’s hands had very little feeling.

She lifted the shirt out of the water, and pulled the plug at the bottom of the tub.

She wrung the shirt out, and was happy to see no color had ran. The design had held up.

Byakuren grinned to herself, and hung the shirt up to dry before making her way back out into the family room to Seija and Kyouko.

She found that Kyouko actually had dozed off on Seija.

Kyouko had nuzzled up against her, head lolled back onto Seija’s shoulder.

Seija’s cheeks were flush. She looked up at Byakuren as she entered the room, and her blush spread even more.

She tried to muster up a cold glare, but was seemingly unable to as her brow trembled a bit.

Byakuren gave her a warm smile and pressed a finger to her lips as she made her way into the room.

Byakuren carefully had a seat next to Kyouko so as to not wake her.

The small girl frowned in her sleep, but didn’t stir.

Byakuren’s smile grew.

Seija just averted her eyes and stared at the floor.

“She looks comfortable.” Byakuren whispered.

“Yeah? Well, I’m not.” Seija huffed quietly.

“Seija?”

“What?” Seija hissed.

“Thank you.” Byakuren said softly. “I appreciate it… I’m sure Kyouko does too seeing with how quickly she’s taken to you.”

“Shut up.” Seija turned her face away from Byakuren. “Just get her off me already.”

Byakuren gave an earthy chuckle, and leaned forward to gently scoop Kyouko up in her arms.

Seija didn’t look over as she did so.

Byakuren adjusted her one arm around Kyouko’s shoulder with her hand flatly on the back of her head, and the other under her knees, and pulled her off of Seija.

Seija sighed as she felt Kyouko’s weight leave her side. She settled back into the couch.

“Seija?” Byakuren whispered.

“What, monk?” Seija sighed through her nose and let her head fall back.

“I love you. Sleep well. I’ll see you in the morning.” Byakuren whispered as she slowly got to her feet.

Seija glanced up at her, brow still trembling. She bit her bottom lip, but didn’t respond.

Byakuren just grinned back and gave her a little bow.

“Goodnight.” She whispered before leaving the room.

 

* * *

 

_AN: holy shit ok yeah notes are still being really weird for me so i'll just write them here for now. sorry, like whats up with different browsers not seeing them i have no idea_

_also, i'm REALLY sorry that this ended up being posted so late, i fully intended to just post it wednesday or something but a LOT of things came up i spent the majority of last week in the hospital, and when i wasn't in the hospital i was freaking out over the possibility of me having a brain tumor but everythings been cleared up and i'm ok and everythings ok and i cannot even tell you how relieved i am_

_yeah so whoops i'm sorry hectic stuff and all that so this chapters a little bit shorter than the rest were_

_but yes here it is! part 5! part 6 is already coming along and this is getting really really long and if you've stuck with me this far i can't even tell you how grateful i am ;; thank you so much_

_shout outs to the usual bunch: purvis, chris, aaron, noe, elly, and you [winks]_

_thanks again ;;_

 

 


	6. Part 6

Morning came quickly, and before she knew it it was the day of the Autumn Festival at long last.

The day’s dawn held up to its reputation. It was pure chaos as everyone in the temple hurried about preparing themselves for the day.

In the air hung the warm smell of coffee. It was unclear who had made it, but it’s presence was welcome, as the night had been too short to get an adequate amount of sleep.

The temple’s doors were cracked open letting the mornings cold air in.

There was a thin layer of frost on the grass and trees outside. A chilled wind blew over the dusting of ice, and carried into the temple.

Byakuren shivered as she hurried down the hallway. She was dressed in her best kesa robe. It was purple and navy, and billowed around her as she moved. She sported a long string of large wooden prayer beads. She had her fist habitually tightly wrapped around a handful of them, their fragrant wood rubbed a sweet smell onto her fingertips. The beads balled in her hand clanked together around her neck and arm. Her wavy hair bounced and fluttered with her steps.

She slowed her pace only just, and knocked along the doors of this hallway.

“Ichirin!” She called.

“Already awake!” Came a faint reply from what sounded like the dining room.

Byakuren knocked on another door.

“Shou!”

“You tellin’ me she’s still in bed?!” Nazrin’s voice called back.

Byakuren would have heard Shou clumsily jolt up from her covers, if she had not already rounded the corner.

“Who isn’t awake?!” Byakuren called loudly.

“I’m awake!” The screen doors shook with Kyouko’s voice. It seemed she was on the other side of the temple.

“Can’t you relax!?” Nue huffed as she slammed her door open.

Byakuren stopped in her tracks as she caught sight of her.

Nue was wearing a very tight pair of black pants made out of some shiny material she didn’t recognize. The black clashed with her pale snow white skin. Nue also wasn’t wearing a shirt. She had on a red bra that was was lazily pushed up over her wings in the back. Her wings dragged the fabric up a good two inches, allowing the ivory skin of her back to show more.

Byakuren sighed at the sight.

“Hey.” Nue said dangerously. “I’m a grown woman. I can dress how I want.”

“I know…” Byakuren frowned. “But you’re going to catch a cold!”

“Beauty has it’s price.”

“Please bring a jacket at least. I don’t want you catching pneumonia.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Nue said with a slightly annoyed tone in her voice. She really wasn’t a morning person.

“And, um… Maybe some mittens.”

Nue snorted at this.

“The big fuzzy ones just to make you happy.” She said and waved the conversation off as she closed the door again.

Byakuren wasted no time hurrying on.

She continued along, and hurried down the next hallway.

She approached the doorway that led to the sitting room, and had full intentions of cutting straight through it to the other half of the temple, but was stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She turned to see Mamizou standing just behind her with a small smirk on her face.

She was dressed in a long red happi that was tied tightly shut. She wore a loose fitting pair of grey slacks underneath. Her hair was as messy as ever, her ears just barely poked out of it.

Byakuren was a little surprised seeing her like this. Usually, Mamizou went as a human to festivals with the intention of “mingling” with the humans more naturally.

Mamizou gave her a toothy grin, scrunching up her nose a little as her cheeks were pushed up.

“Calm down, Hijiri. Your minds going a mile a minute.”

“Indeed. So much to do-”

“Nuh uh.” Mamizou shook her head. Her curls swayed. “I think you need to take a load off.”

“Miss Mamizou. I really don’t think that now is the time-” She was cut off as Mamizou took a large step behind her, and reached her hands up to cover Byakuren’s eyes. Mamizou had to stand on her toes slightly to accommodate for their height difference, but managed well enough.

“Um…?” Byakuren blindly brought her hands to her face and timidly touched Mamizou’s hands. “What are you doing?”

“Just relax, Hijiri. Take a half step to your right, then move forward two steps.”

Byakuren hesitated, then did as she was told.

To her right, she heard someone hurriedly enter the room.

Mamizou made a small grunting noise at them. Byakuren wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to this.

“Wait! Wait! I’m coming!” Kyouko’s voice carried in. Her small footsteps pattered in a few moments later.

A second pair of footsteps clumsily followed.

“Let go!” Seija’s voice said.

“ShhH!” Kyouko hissed back.

Mamizou sighed. Byakuren felt her warm breath tickle the back of her neck.

Just up ahead, she heard the door open.

“It’s ok.” Mamizou’s voice said. “Step forwards just a bit. I’ll tell you when to stop.”

Byakuren frowned a bit, but obeyed. She took a few cautious steps forward into the room up ahead.

She could hear shuffling in this room, but wasn’t entirely sure of who it was.

“Ok, this is good.” Mamizou said after a few more steps. “Stop.”

Byakuren stood still, and wrung her hands together.

The prayer beads clanked. She felt their smooth surfaces in the palm of her hands.

“What’s all this about?” Byakuren frowned.

Mamizou only cackled.

“Ready?” She said. Byakuren wasn’t sure if this was directed at her.

“Um…?”

“Good!” Mamizou removed her hands, and took a stride over to Byakuren’s side.

Byakuren blinked as her eyes focused.

Ahead of her, was the entirety of the temple’s residents.

They grinned back at her. Some looked a little apprehensive. Most looked happy. Murasa looked tired. Seija looked like she would rather be anywhere but here.

Most curiously about the scene was everyone was dressed in the same identical shirt.

The shirts were lavender and made out of a simple cotton. Printed in bold black letters, was the phrase “ _Team Hijiri_ ” across the chest.

Byakuren snorted, and covered her mouth.

Beside her, Mamizou opened her happi, and Byakuren saw even she was wearing one. She gave Byakuren another wide grin.

“Well?”

“They’re adorable!” Byakuren giggled.

“I thought of the phrase!” Ichirin piped up. she grinned. Her cheeks blushed a light pink. “Do you like it?”

“I do! It’s very cute!”

“Oh, one more thing.” Mamizou said.

The tanuki moved over across the room and fetched another shirt. It was folded neatly. She presented it to Byakuren.

Byakuren took it, curiously.

On the chest, she could see her last name. She unfolded it curiously, and held it up to examine it.

On the breast, “ _I’m Hijiri_ ” was printed.

Byakuren snorted again. This time, it turned into a full on giggling fit.

Mamizou cackled beside her.

“Thought you’d like it.”

“Thank you.” Byakuren said as she lowered the shirt again.

She moved her eyes across the group in front of her.

Everyone really was wearing the shirt.

Even Unzan had made the attempt. He wasn’t able to fit into it normally, but he had two large stretched out T-shirts on each of his wrists.

Nue had covered up her red bra with the shirt. She had it pulled up and tied just below her chest. The back of the shirt was pushed up over her wings, her pale stomach was exposed. This was a common look she sported when she didn’t want to go through the trouble of editing a shirt’s back to fit over her wings. She looked a little unhappy to be wearing it, but sported a grin nonetheless.

Beside her was Kyouko. The shirt Kyouko had on was large and baggy. It seemed to be at least two sizes too big for her. The neck hole of the shirt hung off her shoulder a little. Underneath, another black shirt was visible. Byakuren assumed that this was her band shirt, and she intended on taking off the purple one when she played.

Kyouko was clinging onto Seija’s sleeve. Seija looked very unhappy about this development. Byakuren was surprised to see her here, let alone wearing a shirt like that. She was blushing deeply and folding her arms. She seemed to be pretending she was anywhere else in Gensokyo but here.

Byakuren grinned at the entirety of the group and spun her own shirt around her hands. She hunched over, and tugged it on over her head, straight over her robes. It fit a little snugly with all that fabric, but it wasn’t unbearable. She looked down at it as she pulled her long hair out the back, and her grin only grew.

“I can’t thank you enough… Really. This is too sweet.” Byakuren gushed.

Mamizou chuckled and patted her roughly on the back.

“No problem, Hijiri.” Mamizou turned to the group. “Now don’t go doing anything stupid especially with that written on you. Don’t want any bad name for the family.” Mamizou said.

“You’re the one to talk.” Nue cackled. She gave Mamizou a wink. Mamizou snorted and waved it off.

“I’m on my best behavior.” Mamizou said with a nod. “But really.” Mamizou gave Seija a very pointed glance.

Seija seemed to have noticed this.

She glanced up and gave Mamizou a cold glare back.

Mamizou just raised her eyebrows and puffed out her chest.

“We don’t want to give the Taoists anything they can hold against us, do we?” Mamizou asked, still keeping her eyes firmly on Seija.

Seija stared flatly back at her. She pressed her lips into a thin line.

“No, we don’t.” Mamizou said with a dangerous smile. Her fangs flashed and her tail swayed a bit. “So be good, kids. Ol’ Mamizou ain’t got time to watch the lot of ya.” And with that, she gave a little nod and turned to exit the room.

This seemed to be the que for the group to disband.

Nue hurried out after Mamizou, her laugh carried in a few moments later.

Nazrin and Shou broke away from the group and headed towards the kitchen.

Judging by how sleep deprived they both looked, it could be safely assumed that they were headed towards the coffee.

Unzan tapped Ichirin’s shoulder and they started their separate conversation.

Murasa stepped forward and gave Byakuren a very wide grin.

“How do you like them?” She said nodding down to her shirt to clear up any misunderstandings to what “them” she was referring to.

Byakuren chuckled lightly.

“They’re very sweet. Thank you.”

“I was the one who twisted the tengus’ arms ya know?” She chuckled. “They were being pretty ridiculous with their pricing.”  
“Oh?” Byakuren frowned.

“Yeah.” Murasa laughed. “We were gonna have Mamizou just transform into a tengu and use the printer herself, but she didn’t know how. So I just had to step in to be the brawn.” She said flexing one arm.

Byakuren smiled uncomfortably.

“Nuh uh!” Ichirin called. Apparently she had picked up on the conversation.

“You just helped carry the boxes back. They agreed to let us print so long as we handed out their business cards.”

“I was the brawn, Ichi!”

“Sure.” Ichirin chuckled and folded her arms.

“It’s true!”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Ichirin said as she tilted her head and gave Murasa a look through her lashes. It was a rare sight to see Ichirin without her hood. Her purple curls hung loosely around her face.

Murasa blushed a bit, and looked away abashed.

Ichirin’s gaze was a force to be reckoned with.

Byakuren chuckled lightly to herself and shook her head.

“So, this means everyone really is awake then. That’s a relief…” She said with a small sigh as she placed her hand lightly on her chest. “I was so afraid it would be like last year…”

“Last year,” Murasa stood up straight and put her hands on her hips, “Wasn’t my fault.”

“It wasn’t.” Byakuren nodded.

“What happened last year?” Seija asked quietly from across the room.

Byakuren glanced over at her.

Seija blushed a bit and took a few cautious steps forward to better integrate herself into the conversation.

Kyouko followed along with her, still tugging on her arm.

“Last year,” Byakuren chuckled and shook her head, “Well a lot of things went wrong.”

“Oh?” Seija asked. Her lips twisted in a small dangerous smirk.

Murasa noticed this and gave her a warning look.

Seija’s smirk faltered only slightly.

“Well, first, a few people slept in…” Byakuren said slowly.

“It’s not my fault!” Kyouko whined from beside Seija. “I didn’t mean to!”

“If you hadn’t stayed up all night, you would’ve been fine!” Murasa huffed as she put her hands on her hips.

Ichirin giggled from across the room and made her way over to the group as well.

“Murasa, you slept in too.”

“Did not!”

“Did too!” Ichirin chuckled. She turned and gave Seija a small smile. “So, don’t worry, you’re already doing better than Murasa did.”

“Hey…” Murasa grumbled.

“Why the hell would I worry?” Seija asked flatly.

“Oh, well, I mean, this really is the first time we’re all going to be seen in public together… You’ve never really had an outing with us yet, have you?” Ichirin asked.

“Like I would want to hang out with you idiots.” Seija snarled.

Ichirin gave a small nervous chuckle.

“Don’t worry, sister. Nue was the same way when she began staying with us… We didn’t really, well, fit her image.”

Seija gave Ichirin a cold look, and bit the inside of her cheek.

“Hey,” Murasa frowned at Seija, “She’s just trying to be nice”

“She’s nervous, Mina, don’t worry.” Ichirin said.

“I am **not** nervous.” Seija said as she stiffened a bit.

“It’s ok, really.” Ichirin said as she placed a hand on Seija’s shoulder.

Seija snarled. Her upper lip lifted to show a small flash of her sharp teeth. It looked as if she were debating biting her hand.

“Oh!” Kyouko said suddenly as she released Seija’s arm.

Seija sighed and shrugged her shoulder a bit to adjust to the sudden lack of stress.

“I almost forgot my guitar!” Kyouko turned on her heels and hurried out of the room.

“I guess that means we’re leaving soon.” Byakuren said. “Is there anything anyone has forgotten?”

“Oh…” Murasa said slowly. “Uh, be right back.” She followed in Kyouko’s tracks, and made her way out of the room.

“Oh, I was wondering,” Ichirin began, “When are we going to rotate who stays at the shrine?”

“Hm…” Byakuren folded her arms as she thought.

Typically, the plan was two members of the temple would stay back at the shrine to attend to visitors. The temple was a little ways out of the way of the human village where the main part of the festival was held, so the traffic flow didn’t necessarily overwhelm the pair that stayed behind.

First up on this duty, were Shou and Nazrin. Then, Murasa and Ichrin. Around noon, when the traffic flow would be at its highest, Byakuren would return to personally attend to the guests. Kyouko was expected to at least periodically pop in when things got busy, but was mostly free to stay in the village to prepare for her performance. As for Nue, Mamizou, and Seija, since they weren’t exactly under Byakuren’s teachings, they didn’t have that responsibility to take time out of their festivals to help out. Still though, Mamizou often did stay behind for a few hours to pick up the slack, and even Nue had been known to drop by on occasion when the festival got slow. Seija, on the other hand, was a mystery.

“Well,” Byakuren said slowly. “I think that maybe a good time to switch would be around nine… Would that be ok with you?”

“Oh, good,” Ichirin nodded, “Yeah, sure, so then my next shift should be at… six?” She nodded, “Good, because, well.. Kyouko’s performances kinda give me a headache… it’s good to know I won’t be around for that… Oh, uh, don’t tell her I said that… I don’t want to hurt her feelings.”

“I won’t mention it.” Byakuren said.

“...Are they really that bad?” Seija asked quietly.

“Oh, no,” Ichirin frowned, “She can play well enough… sort of… It’s just that, well, when she sings she really goes all out…”

“She really does try though.” Byakuren nodded.

“Who tries?” Kyouko’s voice called as she stepped back into the room. She now had a large black guitar case in her left hand.

Ichirin gave her a wide nervous grin.

“Oh, nothing...”

“Huh?” Kyouko blinked.

“Stupid dog, they were insulting you behind your back.” Seija said with a smirk.

Kyouko beamed at these words and smacked Seija lightly on the arm.

Seija gave her a pointed glare, she apparently wasn’t accustomed to all this new physical contact Kyouko insisted on giving her.

“Seija, you liar!” Kyouko giggled. “You’re silly.”

Seija opened her mouth, but before she could reply, Murasa stepped back in the room. She was now sporting her familiar white hat. She gave the group a toothy grin.

“Almost forgot.”

“Where was it this time?” Ichirin asked lightly.

“Left it in the kitchen.”

Ichirin giggled, Murasa chuckled along for a few moments.

The door slid open, and Mamizou and Nue stepped back in.

“You guys ready to get going?” Mamizou asked. She put her hands on her hips, and tilted her head.

“Yep!” Kyouko’s voice boomed. She bounced excitedly on her toes.

Shou and Nazrin appeared behind Mamizou and Nue.

Shou gave the group a sleepy grin.

“Have a good time.” She called with a lazy wave.

“Don’t fall back asleep.” Murasa chortled.

“I won’t!”

“She won’t.” Nazrin confirmed with a nod.

“We’ll be back to take over soon enough.” Ichirin said. “So don’t worry.”

“Yeah thanks.” Shou nodded. “Make sure to figure out where all the good food stands are.”

“I’m not buying you lunch.” Nazrin said flatly.

“Aw, why not?” Shou whined.

Mamizou sighed and waved.

“Let’s get a move on.”

 

 

 

As the group exited the temple, the frigid fall air surrounded them. Even with several layers of fabric, it still managed to cut at them.

The sun, however, poked vibrantly out of the clouds. It’s rays helped take the edge off the wind chill a bit.

The sky was a light shade of blue. It was clear aside from the rare wispy cloud that dotted the horizon. It promised to be a beautiful day.

The front of the temple had been decorated for the festival. The red, yellow, and white streamers and banners that adorned the pillars and beams fluttered in the wind.

Their soft rustling and flapping in the wind filled the comfortable silence in the air.

A gust of wind that came from the east blew in and set the streamers into motion.

Byakuren’s robes billowed around her.

Just up ahead down the stairs, the Jizou’s statue’s shawl flapped wildly.

Above, a small dot moved quickly through the sky.

Byakuren looked up, and recognized this to be Aya Shameimaru. No one else could move that fast.

Her small nonsignificant black figure zoomed through the topaz blue sky. There was a thin trail of clouds following her wake, she must be freezing all the way up there.

Byakuren brought her gaze back down from the sky, and began descending down the stairs.

Kyouko had already hopped down most of them, and came to the foot of them just as Byakuren reached the third step.

Kyouko spun around excitedly. Her tail was wagging wildly.

“Come on!” She called.

“We’re not gonna be late, kid.” Mamizou cackled as she called back down to her. “Relax!”

“But I’m so excited!” Kyouko bounced.

“Nothing's even open yet!” Murasa called. She had made her way to the small landing in the middle.

“I don’t care! Come on! Seija, are you good at fishing games?”

“Oh, the best.” Seija said, bored.

“Good! Because I want to win a bunch!”

“Those kinds of games won’t be out till evening! Relax!” Murasa said.

“I don’t care! I wanna be the first one there!”

“Do we even have anywhere to keep any fish in?” Byakuren asked.

“I’ll buy a bowl in town!” Kyouko said with a nod. “With all the tips I get from my show.”

Murasa chortled at these words.

“Planning on rolling in the dough?”

“Definitely! Me and Mystie have been practicing for forever!”

“Better watch out.” Nue said, “Those tsukumogamis are pretty good too. That redhead is probably just about as loud as you.”

“It’s not about being loud! It’s about sounding good!”

Kyouko stomped her foot as Byakuren and the rest of the party reached the foot of the steps. Her tail was wagging even harder now. Every few wags, it would smack up against the guitar case in her hand with a soft _thump_.

Murasa ruffled her hair.

“Relax.”

“I can’t!” Kyouko said. “You guys are taking so long!” Kyouko turned and started trotting forward along down the path.

They followed her quietly.

Along the way, the small shrines lining the roadway had also been decorated. Their white streamers fluttered lightly in the breeze.

Come nightfall, the candles and incense burners would all be lit, making it easier for the humans to find their way in the dark.

The group managed to put some distance between themselves and the temple as they continued on forward.

They fell into a comfortable silence, only filled by Kyouko’s tail occasionally hitting her guitar case, and the rustling of the streamers as they fluttered in the wind.

Byakuren let her mind wander.

She watched Kyouko trot along up ahead.

Beside her was Nue. Nue had her arms wrapped tightly around herself. The back of her purple top was bunched up in the back over her strange wings. She looked cold, but it was unlikely that she would ever admit it. She had her pride after all.

A little closer to Byakuren, was Seija. Seija had her eyes set firmly straight ahead of her. She was pouting a little. Her dark skin had paled a little from the cold, but she wasn’t sporting her usual blush that she had taken to wearing quite frequently in recent days.

Byakuren looked past Seija at the shrines along the road.

Something strange stirred in her stomach as she looked onto them.

They were farther away from the temple now. Now, the shrines had thinned quite a good amount. She let her eyes travel across them.

A large gust of wind blew against her back, whipping her hair in front of her face.

She brought a hand up, and tucked her hair behind her ears.

With this motion, her eyes landed on a small gap between two small shrines.

Here, where the older shrines stood, it wasn’t all that uncommon for them to be oddly placed, but there was something about this gap that caught her eyes.

She slowed to a stop, and turned to face it.

Her stomach leapt as she realized that this is where that chipped Budai statue had stood on that rainy day she had met Seija.

She frowned and looked around to see if she was mistaken.

There were only a few statues left along the road, she could not see the damaged statue anywhere. She frowned.

“Something wrong?” She heard Ichirin ask from behind her.

Byakuren shook her head without looking back.

“Was there a statue here…?”

“What?” Ichirin asked.

“Right here. I thought I had seen a chipped Budai statue in a small shrine right here…”

“Um… No, I don’t recall anything like that.” Ichirin said slowly. “I mean, I’m not the one who usually lights the incense, Shou might have a better idea… But I don’t recall. Why? Do you think someone stole it?”

Byakuren frowned and looked down at the ground. In this gap, there was grass just like anywhere else. It didn’t look like it had been pressed down as it would have been if a shrine had been placed on it. Nothing look disturbed at all.

She frowned and squinted down at the ground.

“Stop staring into space like an idiot, monk.” Came Seija’s voice.

Something shiny caught her eye in the dry grass.  

Byakuren bent down to examine it. She picked it up.

It was a small white bit of what looked like some kind of china. She turned it over in her hands. It was curved and jagged.

She closed her fingers lightly around it. It dug a bit into her skin.

“What the hell are you doing?” Seija’s voice was closer now.

Byakuren opened her eyes, and relaxed her hand.

It was a small chip from the offering bowl that had been set in front of the statue.

She slowly and quietly got up to her feet and turned around.

Seija was standing just two feet away from her, frowning at her.

Byakuren offered her a small warm smile and shook her head.

“Don’t worry, my child. Everything is right.” Byakuren said.

Seija eyed her curiously.

“For future reference, if you want to try to be vague and mystic, save picking up roadside trash for after the attempt.” Seija said as her eyes traveled down to the small chip in Byakuren's hand.

Byakuren held out her hand.

“Have you ever seen this before?”

“What? No.” Seija said making a face.

“Please, just take a closer look, ok?”

“You’re picking up weird habits from that damn raccoon woman. Stop shoving garbage in my face.”

“Just look at it. Please.”

Seija sighed and narrowed her eyes at the small shard.

Byakuren brought it between her fingers and turned it over so Seija could see the other side.

“What am I supposed to be looking for here?”

“It doesn’t look familiar at all?”

“Are ya deaf? Didn’t you hear me earlier!” Seija huffed and turned. She continued on down the road.

The rest of the group had traveled quite a bit up ahead.

Ichirin and Unzan were the only two who now stood beside Byakuren. Both were frowning.

“Are you ok?” Ichirin asked quietly.

“Hm?” Byakuen brought her gaze up from the small chip, and looked over at Ichirin’s face. “Yes, I’m sorry.” Byakuren said as she pulled out her coin purse and tucked the chip into it.

Ichirin watched her do this curiously.

“Is that… important?”

“I think it must be.”

“Oookay… Whatever you say… Just don’t cut your finger when you reach into that bag.”

“I’ll be cautious.”

“YOU’RE SO SLOW!” Kyouko’s booming call reverberated through the air.

This apparently adequately ended this conversation.

The trio hurried on to catch up.

 

 

 

The excitement of the town was but just a hush, as was to be expected for this time of day.

Stalls and booths were being constructed through the streets by tired men and women. The sound of hammers carried through the air.

Along this particular street, it seemed the majority of the stalls were set up by merchants.

There was one that was almost completed that seemed to be selling rugs. It was adorned with vibrant blue banners, and had planks of wood scattered out in front of it. The back had yet to be completed, but judging by how it was progressing there would be horizontal bars to drape the rugs out for display. A young woman was standing behind the counter, leaning rolled up carpets against one of the completed walls. She stopped, and turned when she saw Byakuren’s group approaching. A smile spread across her face, and her cheeks turned a delighted shade of pink.

“Hijiri!” She called as she beckoned them over. “Oh! And the family! Come here, come here!”

“Mom!” Kyouko called. “Let me walk around! Please!” Her voice disturbed some of the nearby merchants. They looked up from their work to give her looks.

Byakuren frowned.

“Well, alright. Don’t get lost though…”

“I’ll follow her!” Murasa said as she put a hand on Kyouko’s shoulder.

“I don’t need a chapero-...” Kyouko closed her mouth and spun around as her sentence trailed off. “I mean… If Seija goes too… I won’t mind…”

“Yeah!” Murasa chortled and gave Seija a crooked smile. “Come on. We gotta show off our newest member.”

“Oh, great.” Seija rolled her eyes. “Just what I need.” Despite her words, Seija moved to follow them.

“Exactly.” Murasa said as the turned and started leading Kyouko forward. She stopped to give the woman at the rug booth a wave.

“Hey, Nanami. I’ll see ya later.”

“Enjoy the festival, Murasa. Good luck with the show, Kyouko!” Nanami called. She waved them goodbye from behind her booth.

Byakuren approached her as the rest of the group scattered.

“Hello.” Byakuren gave her a bow.

“Morning.” Nanami said as she bowed back.

Nanami was a young woman that visited the temple on occasion. She worked hard as a rug merchant, and that took up most of her life, leaving little time for much else. She had thick brown hair that was always tied up, and a stout healthy body.

“Haven’t had a chance to stop by.” She said with a guilty smile.

Byakuren smiled back and waved a hand.

“You have a very busy life, I understand.”

“You’re supposed to scold me, you know!” Nanami chuckled.

“What?” Byakuren laughed along.

“You’re supposed to tell me I need to dedicate myself more or something, Hijiri!”

“I apologize.” Byakuren chuckled. “I’ll save that for after the festival. Does that sound like a deal?”

“Oh?” Nanami winked. “You coming onto me or something?”

“What?” Byakuren sputtered.

Nanami laughed hard and clutched her stomach.

“Teasing you, Hijiri. I must’ve really spent too long away from the temple to talk to you like that. Sorry.”

“No worries.” Byakuren said with a weak sigh, and turned her head to the side, abashed.

Beside Nanami’s booth, another was being constructed. This one looked to be a lamp seller judging by the red lanterns hanging from the front of it. Behind the counter was a pair of redheads, one in white, and one in a crimson capelet that covered most of her face.

The one in white seemed to be doing most of the muscle work, she was holding up a very heavy looking support beam while the other was working of fastening it.

A short brunette girl with a purple headband trotted up to the booth, and slipped behind the counter to help.

The redhead in the capelet looked over at the brunette, and greeted her warmly.

She took a step away from the support beam, and pulled down her capelet to reveal a very wide grin. She leaned forward, and gave the brunette a peck on her cheek.

The brunette blushed and grinned back.

During this exchange, the second redhead started struggling with the support beam. It slipped a little out of her hands, and she had to struggle with pulling it back upright.

“Fuck, you two! I’m gonna break my arm over here!” The redhead in white called loudly.

Nanami turned over to them and gave them a very dirty look.

“Hey, you idiots!” She called. All three of them looked over, very startled. “There’s a monk here! Watch your language!” Nanami waved a fist at them.

They moved their gazes off Nanami, and brought them to Byakuren.

Byakuren blushed and waved it off.

The redhead in white squinted hard at Byakuren, in doing so, her attention was brought off the support beam again. It started slipping. She managed to catch it again, but only just barely.

“You Hijiri?” She said, as she straightened the beam again.

“I am.” Byakuren nodded.

“Oh! Great! Raiko Horikawa.” She nodded distractedly. “That means your Nue’s mama bird right?”

Byakuren chuckled.

“Nice to meet you Miss Horikawa-”

“Just call me Raiko.”

“Oh, well nice to meet you Raiko.” Byakuren gave her a bow. “Yes, you are correct about Nue.”

“Good.” Raiko said as she puffed out her chest. “Tell that little cheater she owes me 40 mon from that bet. She’ll know what I mean.”

The brunette smacked Raiko hard on the arm.

“Ow! Yatsu, you’re gonna make me drop this. Sekibanki. get over here and help already!”

The other redhead, apparently named Sekibanki, hurried over and started working on fastening the support beam again.

The brunette girl called Yatsu put her hands on her hips.

“Why do you gotta be so rude all the time!?” Yatsu huffed.

“Why do you gotta be so annoying all the time!?” Raiko huffed right back.

“I don’t know what my sister sees in you.” Yatsu said.

Raiko rolled her eyes and didn’t bother to respond to this. Instead, she turned her attention back on Byakuren.

“You tell that cheater I know she got real sweet with the ref. I want my 40 mon back.” Raiko said with a nod.

Byakuren frowned, but before she could respond, Yatsu spoke up again.

“Maybe if you’d listened to me and kept your money out of duck racing-”

“My duck was the fastest one outta all of them! It was a sure bet! If that ref hadn’t been sleeping around with Nue she woulda called it fair.” Raiko said aggravatedly.

“Sure bet, right. That’s why it was a photo finish.”

“Shut up, you stupid koto!” Raiko huffed and tried to kick Yatsu. This movement set the beam in motion again. Raiko struggled once again to straighten it. She brought her eyes back over to Byakuren and frowned. “Anyway, just tell her I want it back. She can find me after we go on.”

Byakuren frowned and nodded silently. “I’ll tell her.”

“Great thanks.” Raiko said as she turned her attention back on Yatsu.

Byakuren likewise turned back to Nanami.

“I’ll see you later than, ok?” Byakuren said with a bow.

“Yep.” Nanami nodded and bowed back. “Have a fun festival. If you need a rug, I’m your girl.”

“Right. Thank you.” Byakuren smiled and turned.

She headed back down the street.

Not too far ahead, she found most of the group. It seemed Mamizou and Nue had broken away to do their own individual things whilst the others had stayed together.

They were standing out in front of a food stall that was not yet running.

The stall was one of the few that had been fully completed, but it seemed the owner was away.

Standing out in front of the stall was a large chalkboard easel that had a small seafood menu and prices scrawled out on it.

Murasa waved when she saw Byakuren approaching.

“Hey, what did Nanami want?”

“Oh, just to say hi.” Byakuren said. She looked over at the menu. The handwriting was messy and hard to read, but it seemed like this stall specialized in crab. The prices were very high, but crabs weren’t in season after all.

“We’re thinking about getting food.” Murasa said. “But it doesn’t seem like anythings really running yet.”

“It’ll pick up around noon, I assume.”

“Ugh, but by then I’ll be stuck at the temple.” Murasa pouted. “I wanted some authentic festival foods.”

“Well, I’m sure during the evening you could get something.”

“That’s so far away!” Murasa groaned and let her head fall back.

Beside her, Ichirin giggled.

“You’re so impatient.” She said as she lightly smacked Murasa’s arm.

Murasa chortled and opened her mouth to respond, but stopped. Her gaze landed just behind Byakuren. She gave a very pointed glare.

Byakuren blinked and frowned.

Ichirin was frowning too, as was Kyouko. Seija, on the other hand, was suddenly all smiles.

Byakuren turned around, and saw the Taoists approaching.

Leading them was Miko dressed in a very expensive looking navy haori draped over an outfit of white and gold silk brocades.

Beside Miko was Tojiko dressed in an equally splended looking white and blue hōmongi.

Behind the pair, Futo’s unmistakable silky silver hair was only just visible over Miko’s shoulder.

Following them, Seiga and Yoshika were not far behind.

It seemed that they had caught sight of the Buddhists, as they were heading directly towards them.

Miko was sporting a polite but bored grin that was directed towards Byakuren.

Tojiko looked a little less willing to look approachable.

“Morning,” Miko called with a little wave.

Murasa made a very aggravated grunt, and took a large stride forward to stand at Byakuren’s side.

“Hello.” Byakuren said with a bow.

Miko’s grin grew a little bit more genuine, but Tojiko’s face remained dark.

“Out early as well?” Miko said nonchalantly.

“Of course.” Byakuren said. “Have a pleasant trip into town?”

“Wasn’t bad.” Miko shrugged.

Futo moved forward and stood beside Miko. They folded their arms and puffed out their chest.

Byakuren gave Futo a weak smile.

“Hello Mononobe.”

“Mine party doth not need to respond to the likes of thee.”

“Civil, Futo.” Miko chided.

“Nev’r, Mine Prince. Not in the company of the Buddhist jackanapes.”

“What didja just call me, ya little-” Mursa rolled up her sleeve and took a step forward, but Byakuren brought her arm out in front of her.

“Dear, no.”

“You’re just gonna let them get away with saying that?!” Murasa huffed.

“Relax, Minamitsu.” Byakuren said calmly.

“Ooh, first name…” Seiga said as she moved between Miko and Tojiko. “I’m not accustomed to hearing it. I take it…-” Seiga’s words trailed off as she looked beyond Murasa. They landed on Seija. Seiga frowned and narrowed her eyes.

Seija gave her a nasty grin back.

Seiga’s gaze traveled lower, and landed on Seija’s shirt, then moved back up again to meet her gaze.

“Well, well…” She said as she folded her arms. “Yoshika, sweetie. Yǎo.”

“‘Kay.” Yoshika said and started to hobble forward.

Miko frowned and placed a hand on Seiga’s shoulder. Miko had caught sight of Seija too.

Seija was grinning ear to ear.

“No, call her off.”

“What?” Seiga narrowed her eyes.

“Call her off.” Miko said, annunciating each syllable.

Seiga frowned.

“Tíngzhǐ.” She said with a sigh. Yoshika stopped in place.

“‘Kay.” Yoshika gave a very stiff shrug.

“This one doth not understandeth.” Futo said, looking around very confused.

Miko sighed and waved it off.

“Nothing, Futo.” Miko said.”

“It’s not nothing!” Seiga said sharply. “Do you have any idea who that is?”

“I do.” Miko said lowly.

“And you’re going to just let her get away with it?” Seiga turned towards Byakuren. “I knew you had no standards, but this is a new low.”

Byakuren frowned back at her.

She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off when Seija squeezed between her and Murasa. She took a very bold step forward, and stopped inches from Miko’s face. Seija put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side.

“Nice to meet ya, Princey.”

Miko sputtered and glared.

“Excuse me?”

“Pray, elaborate. This one doth not comprehend the Nue’s doppelganger's actions. Nor doth this one belong in the speakings between Mine Prince and Lady Kaku.” Futo said nervously glancing between Miko and Seija.

“I ain’t no doppleganger!” Seija hissed at Futo. Futo furrowed their brow.

“Let’s not spoil this festival with grudges.” Miko said cautiously.

“I agree.” Byakuren said as she took a small step forward. She placed a hand on Seija’s shoulder, but Seija did not react to it.

“Miko!” Seiga seemed to be losing her usual calm demeanor. “I don’t understand! This girl destroyed our home! Let me deal with her personally. I will take her out of your presence if you wish.”

“Seiga, no-” Miko began.

“This wrench!?” Futo exclaimed, pointing at Seija. Their long sleeve flapped violently with the motion. Futo’s eyes were wide, their mouth hung open. “This brach ist responsible!? Fie! Mine Prince! Let this one dispose of that gremlin post haste!”

“You will not.” Miko said.

“Wherefore!?” Futo looked shocked.

Miko turned to meet Seija’s gaze. Seija was more than a head shorter than Miko, but she stood up straight and gave Miko a very smug look.

“You’re very lucky the monk has taken you under her wing and pardoned your actions. If your luck had fallen just a bit short, you wouldn’t be wearing that grin of yours.”

Seija’s smirk flickered for a fraction of a second.

“Mine Prince! Elaborate! Wherefore? This one can-”

“No, Futo.” Miko said while still looking very flatly down at Seija. “I have promised we will inflict no harm upon this child for her previous actions against us.”

“What?” Seiga and Seija asked in unison.

“Mine Prince! Thou art not humorous with thy jokings.” Futo said cautiously.

“I have promised Byakuren neither I nor we will harm this child.” Miko said. “She used the favor we owed her on this request.”

Suddenly, all eyes were on Byakuren.

Byakuren frowned.

Seija looked at her expectantly.

Byakuren nodded slowly.

Seija’s face became unreadable.

“But,” Miko said, gazing down on Seija again.

Seija looked up at Miko, but her smirk had fallen.

“This promise only applies to what has already happened. Let me warn you, Miss Kijin, I won’t take any pity on you in the future.”

Seija scowled up at at Miko, and shrugged Byakuren’s hand off her shoulder.

Miko tilted back a bit and sighed. “Water under the bridge, right?”

No one responded to this.

“Let’s go. It’s too early for me to be this angry.” Miko shrugged and took a step away from Seija.

The Taoists followed in suit. Miko gave a small brisk bow and led the group away without another word.

Byakuren watched them silently as they left.

“Geez.” Murasa sighed. “What the heck was all that about? How rude.” She sighed.

The group fell into a tense silence. Seija had still not turned back around to face them.

“Anyway,” Murasa shrugged, oblivious to this. She gave Seija a nudge on the shoulder.

Seija looked down at where Murasa had touched her. Half of her face came into view as she turned. It was unreadable.

“Hey,” Murasa said, “They were really pissed. Good job.”

Seija turned her face away again, but her head was still tilted low. She seemed to be looking at her shirt.

“And good job to you too.” Murasa said nudging Byakuren. “They really looked like they wanted to throttle her. Good planning ahead. That’s that motherly instinct in you, ain’t it? It’s a gift. Swear, we woulda been peeling Seija off the sidewalk.”

As Murasa rambled on, Seija slowly turned back around. She kept her eyes low and off of Byakuren.

Kyouko took a few steps forward and wrapped her arm around Seija’s.

“You ok?” Her voice was quieter, as if she were intending to turn this into a private conversation.

Seija looked down at her quietly.

“You look kinda shaken up. Don’t worry, those Taoist’s always pick on us.”

“Yeah!” Murasa chortled. “And see, they already hate you. I guess them hating you is kinda initiation into our temple.” She snorted. “You’re already three steps ahead of us, we don’t need to haze you in.”

“She was already part of us!” Kyouko grumbled. She looked a bit miffed her personal conversation had been interrupted by Murasa.

Murasa just chuckled.

“Joking! I’m just joking. Hell, now I know I won’t feel weird about calling you sister!”

Seija looked up at her, her face held some coldness to it. At least it had some emotion to it now.

“Hey,” Murasa snorted. “What’s that look for?”

“You’re an idiot.” Seija finally spoke up.

Murasa’s mouth fell open with these words.

She was quiet for a few moments, then broke out laughing.

“Definitely something a sister would say.” She gave Seija a wink.

Seija looked as if she didn’t know how to respond to this. She just lowered her eyes again, they landed on Kyouko.

Kyouko gave her a reassuring grin back.

“Murasa’s always so loud.” Kyouko said in her quieter voice.

Murasa made a small noise at this. She put her hands on her hips and leaned forward.

“ _You’re_ calling _me_ loud?”

“I am!” Kyouko said. She stuck her tongue out at Murasa, behind her, her tail pointed straight out as she rocked back onto her heels. “And you’re nosey! Let other people talk without you!”

“Why can’t I join the conversation, huh?” Murasa frowned.

Beside her, Ichirin giggled. She put her hand on Murasa’s shoulder.

“Enough.” She said. “Let’s just go find some food. You’re still hungry right?”

This seemed to get Murasa’s attention off of Kyouko. She turned to Ichirin and gave her a very wide grin.

“Starving.”

“Then, let’s go see if we can find any stalls that are open yet.” Ichirin said. She turned back to the group. “Anybody want to join?”

“I do!” Kyouko said as she tugged on Seija’s arm roughly. Seija only sighed at this.

Unzan nodded.

“I could go along.” Byakuren said.

Seija brought her eyes over to Byakuren and watched her silently.

Byakuren noticed and gave her a small smile, but Seija averted her gaze.

Ichirin picked up on this awkwardness and frowned. She put her hands on her hips and nodded down the road.

“Let’s just start down this road. Usually this is where all the food stalls are located.”

Murasa apparently needed no more encouragement, as she started making her way in that direction.

Ichirin and Unzan quickly followed, then the rest of the group did the same.

As expected, nothing really was open yet, although it seemed most of the stalls here had made great progress on being assembled.

The group attracted a great deal amount of attention as they made their way down the road.

Their faces (save Seija’s) were all well known here.

Byakuren could pick out a fair few of the villagers as well.

As they made their way along she caught sight of a lamprey stand sporting the last name of Kyouko’s bandmate, but, to Kyouko’s disappointment, she wasn’t there at the moment.

Across from this stand was one that was run by the Motoyama family. A woman named Miki was standing behind the counter. She gave the group a small wave before returning to whatever it was she was tending to below the counter.

Byakuren returned the wave even though Miki wasn’t looking now. The top of Miki’s black hair was only just visible from where she had crouched.

Byakuren recognized Miki as a regular of her temple. Miki had once been a teacher in the town over, but once she had married she had inherited her wife’s catering business.

By the looks of how the stall was coming out, it was going to be a big one. Most likely because unlike many other food sellers here, the Motoyamas had a very wide selection of foods.

Next to the Motoyamas’ stall was what looked to be a dango stand run by a white haired old man.

He too gave the group a wave.

Murasa noticed and gave him a full armed wave back.

“Hey, Tombo!” Murasa called.

Tombo chuckled and nodded in her direction.

“Stop by sometime!” Tombo winked. “Got a buncha new flavors I want you to taste test!”

“I ain’t tryin any nori dango this year!” Murasa snorted.

Tombo cackled and shook his head.

The rest of the small trek went about in a similar fashion.

The group was warmly received.

Seija was seemingly unnoticed. Apparently she was very good at blending in.

As they neared the end of the road, the scent of food wafted lightly in the air.  It seemed there was definitely several stalls open and running here.

Murasa hurried forward sniffing at the air.

Ichirin sighed and placed her head in her hand as she chased after her.

Murasa raced forward a good distance before turning around to face the group again.

“Hey!” She called back.

Everyone in the general area turned to look at her.

Ichirin’s cheeks turned a color that was very similar to the shade of pink Unzan so often sported.

“Definitely here!” She called.

Byakuren gave her a small uncomfortable smile and brought a finger up to her lips as if to say _quiet_.

Behind her, Kyouko hushed her. Ironically, her hushing was decently louder than Murasa’s voice had been.

A few of the stalls banners flapped and fluttered as the sound reverberated through them.

Murasa ignored this and beckoned them over.

They complied, and soon found what she was talking about.

There was a small takoyaki stall being run by a short brown haired woman. She looked very startled by the commotion Murasa had caused.

Murasa just gave her a wide grin.

She smiled back unsurely.

“Hey, there.” She said as she approached. She looked up ahead of the girl where a small menu had been scrolled out.

The girl waited awkwardly for Murasa to continue.

“Uh, just give me a medium basket… Wait, wait… Ichirin,” Murasa turned to face the group. “Do you wanna share? I still owe you from eating your ice cream.”

“Yes you do.” Ichirin said as she folded her arms. “And yes I do.”

“Oh, ok. I’ll pay then.” Murasa said as she turned back to the woman behind the counter. “I’ll have a large basket then.”

“Ok. 10 mon.” The woman said.

Murasa nodded and paid her.

The woman went to work preparing the food.

As she did so, Murasa turned back to the rest of the group. She cast her eyes beyond them back down the road in the direction from where they had come. “Do you guys want to find a place to sit down or something.”

“Can’t chew and walk at the same time?” Seija said dryly.

Murasa just snorted.

“Guess not.” She glanced over down the road to parts they had not covered. She hesitated for a few moments, squinting as if she were trying to focus on something.

“Is the gazebo open?” She asked.

Byakuren turned and looked for it in the distance.

The gazebo was a popular place in town for people to eat or simply sit together outside.

It usually was filled, and hard to get a seat in, but being this early on in the day, the chances were greater.

Byakuren could see it down the road.

It had a brown roof and red support beams.

It looked as if there was a single person sitting in it, but that was it.

Byakuren blinked.

“I think we could get a seat.” She said.

“Great.” Murasa said.

“Hey,” Kyouko stepped forward. “I want some takoyaki too.”

“It’s too early for you to be eating something as salty as this.” Murasa said with a sage not.

Kyouko pouted.

“You’re eating it!”

“I’m older!”

“You’re just saying that because you’re taller!” Kyouko stomped her foot.

“I’m more mature!” Murasa nodded.

“Are not!”

“Are too.”

“...Here’s your takoyaki.” The woman behind the counter said sheepishly as she handed Murasa her food.

Murasa blinked and accepted it with a small bow.

“Thanks.” She said.

“No, thank you.” The woman said with a small smile.

“Murasa, please buy me some.” Kyouko said.

“No way! You have your own money!” Murasa said, holding the takoyaki up above Kyouko’s head so she couldn’t get at her food.

“So!” Kyouko frowned. “Come on!”

“No.”

“Kyouko.” Byakuren said as she stepped forward. “If you want, I’ll pay for you.”

“Really?” Kyouko beamed.

Byakuren nodded. She began reaching into her robes for her coin purse, but Murasa groaned so loudly she stopped.

“Fine, geez, kid.” Murasa said, still holding her takoyaki up dangerously high. “Fine, fine. I’ll getcha some.”

“Really?” Kyouko’s tail began wagging. It smacked against her guitar case a few times.

Murasa nodded slowly with a sigh. She turned back around to face the woman behind the stall and ordered Kyouko a small serving of takoyaki.

Kyouko bounced on her heels happily. Her ears bobbed.

Murasa looked back down at her attempting to keep a stern face, but wasn’t able to hold it for more than a second. Instead her lips spread into a grin.

“Go run and save our seats for us.” Murasa said.

“How do I know you won’t eat any of my takoyaki?” Kyouko asked slowly.

“Because if I wanted more than I already had I woulda bought another serving for myself instead of going through the trouble of stealing yours. Now go. We’ll meet you there.” Murasa said with a nod.

Kyouko shrugged and turned to hurry away. She hesitated for a moment when she saw Seija as if she were debating on grabbing her and trying to drag her along with her to the gazebo, but seemed to decide against it as she didn’t think on it much longer and instead hurried along out of sight. Apparently she had decided Seija would be too much of a hassle to drag along. She would have slowed her down anyway.

“Thank you for doing that.” Byakuren said to Murasa.

Murasa waved it off.

“Don’t mention it.” She said as she popped one of her takoyaki into her mouth. She chewed for a few moments then swallowed and waved it off again. Apparently the first wave hadn’t been enough for her. “Really, don’t mention it. She woulda woke up everyone in town if she kept yappin’ like that, you know.” She said with a nod.

Byakuren gave her a warm smile.

“It was very kind of you.” She said.

“Yeah, yeah.” Murasa said dismissively.

“Here’s your takoyaki.” The woman behind the counter said as she handed Murasa the second basket.

This one was smaller, but would be enough to hold Kyouko off for at least a few hours.

Murasa thanked her and began heading off in the direction that Kyouko had made off in.

The rest of the group followed her.

The trip to the gazebo didn’t take long, but by the time they arrived, Murasa had finished off almost the entirety of her half of takoyaki.

Ichirin had taken up scolding her whenever Murasa gave the basket a longing look in the event that Murasa started going after her half as well.

As they approached the gazebo, Kyouko’s voice carried over.

“...but after that I slept pretty well.” Kyouko finished. She was apparently speaking with the other person seated at the gazebo.

Kyouko caught sight of Murasa and the others and grinned.

“Did you get it!?” Kyouko called.

“Yep.” Murasa said as she stepped into the gazebo. She handed Kyouko her serving and had a seat beside her. Murasa stuck another takoyaki into her mouth, and glanced up at the person sitting across from her.

From where Byakuren was standing, she could not see this person’s face.

All she could see was a red jacket and a straight black ponytail and bow.

“Hey, Hakurei.” Murasa said with a half full mouth.

“Morning, Murasa.” Reimu said as she settled back. Her ponytail shifted a little with the motion.

Byakuren saw Seija’s shoulders stiffen a bit.

She lightly put a hand on one.

Seija flinched under her touch and glanced up at her curiously.

Byakuren gave her a reassuring silent smile down at her.

Seija turned away without a word, and stepped into the gazebo as well.

Ichirin and Byakuren followed.

Ichirin had a seat next to Murasa. Seija had a seat next to Ichirin.

Byakuren made her way in and had a seat next to Seija. She was sitting directly across from Reimu.

Reimu stared flatly back at her.

Reimu’s nose and cheeks were tinted slightly pink from the cold. She had on a pair of brown mittens that peeked out the ends of her red jacket’s sleeves. She crossed one leg over the other, and a thick black boot became visible from under her red skirt. Her eyes were cold and tired.

Byakuren gave her a smile and a small bow.

“Morning, Miss Reimu.”

Reimu nodded in response. Her eyes moved off Byakuren, and landed on Seija.

Seija had leaned back against one of the gazebo’s red beams. She stared straight back at Reimu. Her red eyes were narrowed. One of her feet was bouncing aggravatedly.

“Hello.” Reimu said to no one in particular. She raised an eyebrow.

“How have you been?” Byakuren asked quietly.

A few seats down, Murasa and Kyouko had started bickering amongst themselves about if the takoyaki was a gift or _I owe you_.

Everyone ignored them.

“Decent.” Reimu said with a shrug. She sighed and let her eyes fall closed. “Busy as usual. You know how it is.”

“Oh?” Byakuren asked. “With what?”

Reimu sighed again and folded her arms.

“Dealing with Gensokyo’s idiots and all that.” She said.

“Ah…” Byakuren said.

Reimu silently peeked open an eye. Her foot continued to shake.

“Poor, Hakurei.” Murasa said with a shrug. She lifted a takoyaki up to her mouth, but Ichirin snatched it out of her hand and popped it in her mouth. Murasa frowned but didn’t comment on it. Instead she turned back to Reimu. “Who’s been givin’ you trouble now, huh?”

Reimu sighed and leaned back even more. Her brows knitted together.

“I don’t think I’m at liberty to discuss this.”

“Oh,” Murasa’s eyes went wide, “An incident or something?”

“What did I just say?” Reimu sighed.

“Well, I’m just sayin’ you’re only this worked up if there’s something big you have to deal with.”

“I’m not _worked up._ ” Reimu grunted.

“Miss Reimu, if our presence is troubling you…” Byakuren frowned.

Reimu shook her head.

“No, course not. Why would anyone who had deliberately sought up a quiet place be troubled if a troup of very loud Buddhists butted in and started asking questions?” Reimu’s foot was shaking so quickly now her laces were clicking against the metal eyelets of her boots.

“You and Yukari fighting?” Murasa asked slowly.

Reimu’s eyes shot open. She gave Murasa a look that probably would have killed her if she weren’t already dead.

Murasa frowned.

“Dang. Sorry.” Murasa shrugged. “And during the festival too… That’s the worst. Lost your date for tonight then? Is Marisa free? I’m sure she’d go with you.”

The amount of sheer anger Reimu was radiating with seemed to warm the air in the gazebo.

Byakuren paled and shushed Murasa.

“Now, now. Let’s not be rude.”

“Just trying to help.” Murasa shrugged again.

“Let us please move this conversation away from Yukari.” Reimu said. Her jaw was kept tight, she had to practically squeeze each word out.

“Ok.” Murasa nodded. She looked down longingly at the takoyaki, but Ichirin gave her a small warning nudge.

“How is Marisa anyway?” Byakuren asked, trying to get Reimu to cool off a bit.

Reimu seemed to bite. She shrugged and looked over at her.

“She’s ok. I’ve been keeping a close eye on her after, well, you know.” Reimu sighed. This breath apparently allowed her to let out some steam. Her shoulder slackened a bit. Her foot slowed.

“Indeed.” Byakuren frowned. “Who hasn’t?”

“She tried to get her hands on some fireworks last week. I think she was gonna try to set them off during the festival. She woulda blown a finger off if I hadn’t caught her. I swear, she’s a menace.” Reimu sighed and relaxed even more. “But still, I can’t keep an eye on her all the time. I’m worried she’s gonna go and find another magic carpet.”

Byakuren thought back to what Nue had said about that strange bike. She thought about this, but decided it would be best to not bring it up.

“Well,” Byakuren offered a small smile, “How is that other one you live with? Suika. How’s she been?”

Reimu raised an eyebrow and shifted. She put her hand on her knee and leaned forward as she pressed her weight onto it.

“You’re asking me how Suika is?”

Byakuren blinked and gave her a nervous smile.

“..Yes?”

“Well,” Reimu sighed. “Same as ever. Last night she accidentally tore down some of the decorations we had put up… You know, those huge horns and all…”

Seija shifted a bit.

“Anyway,” Reimu shrugged, “She helped me put them back up at least. Almost tore them down this morning, I swear, she’s like the broad side of a barn with those things jutting off her head. I was lucky to stop her.”

Byakuren smiled and nodded.

“Does she ever trim them?”

“What?” Reimu narrowed her eyes. “Onis are so proud of their horns, if you came after them with sheers you’d get your lights knocked out. Their horns only ever get trimmed if they get broken off in battle.” Reimu sighed, “And that hasn’t happened since I fought her last… which was a while ago.”

“Oh?” Byakuren tilted her head, “I don’t recall that.”

“You were still sealed up.” Reimu snorted. “This was back in the dark days before Miss Messiah graced Gensokyo with her face.”

“Dark days indeed.” Murasa said with a sage nod. Ichirin nodded as well.

Seija just looked confused.

“You fought her?” Byakuren asked.

“Yeah, she was even more wild before I took her in.” Reimu scratched the underside of her chin with her mittened hand. “Crazy little thing, she is.”

Byakuren chuckled and nodded.

“You’re her anchor?”

“You know, I might be.” Reimu gave a half hearted groan, “I don’t like thinking of it as some responsibility, gross.” She broke off into a chuckle and shook her head.

Byakuren smiled and chuckled in response.

“Hm, who else stays with you?” Byakuren asked

Reimu chuckled some more.

“I’m not running an overcrowded orphanage like you, Hijiri.” Reimu snorted and waved it off. “Joking, joking.” She gave Byakuren a half smile.

Byakuren beamed back.

Reimu’s smiles were few and far between.

“Anyway, the only other person is Shin.”

“Oh?” Byakuren blinked.

Beside her, she felt Seija tense.

“Who is that?”

“Shinmyoumaru.” Reimu said. She glanced over at Seija for a half a second. “It’s a mouthful to say, so I just call her Shin. Uh, if you meet her, don’t call her that. She get’s really huffy if people are too friendly with her at first. That whole royalty lineage has gotten to her head.”

“Oh… Oh!” Byakuren blinked. “Is she that small one I saw the last time I visited your shrine?”

“Yeah.” Reimu’s face darkened a little with the memory. “That time that tanuki of yours tried to pull the wool over my eyes.”

“Mamizou did what?” Kyouko piped up.

Reimu glanced over at her and sighed through her nose.

“Didn’t Hijiri tell you?”

Kyouko shook her head and looked over expectantly at Byakuren.

“Nothing, nothing. Let’s not talk about Miss Mamizou behind her back like this.” Byakuren said with a frown.

Kyouko looked disappointed by this.

Reimu just snorted. She shook her head.

“Shin’s good.” She glanced over at Seija. There was ice in her eyes.

Seija stared back, uncrumbling.

“Better now than she has been in a long time, I think.”

Seija narrowed her eyes.

Byakuren blinked.

“Um…”

Reimu continued to glare at Seija for a few long moments before she turned back to Byakuren.

“You know, I think I should get going.” Reimu said as she got to her feet.

Byakuren blinked, a little surprised.

“Oh? So suddenly?”

“Yep.” Reimu straightened out her skirt. “Hope to see you again, Hijiri. When I’m in a better mood that is.”

And as quickly as that, she left.

 

 

 

The remainder of the morning passed quickly after that.

Murasa, Ichirin, and Unzan rotated back into the temple so that Shou and Nazrin could come down and enjoy the festival themselves.

Unsurprisingly, by now things were beginning to pick up.

As noon came around all the stalls and booths had been completed.

The warm smells of savory and sweet food created by the food stalls wafted over.

The beckoning calls of game booths and merchants hung in the air.

Red and white streamers danced in the cool wind. Their rustling was drown out by the commotion of the day’s festivities.

This particular small road they were on was mostly games.

A good portion of the games hadn’t opened yet, due to limited prizes being available but here and there the occasional ring toss game was up and running.

Along the way, there were a few shallow unfilled kiddie pools being prepared for fishing games that would be opened later on in the day.

Kyouko eyed these dreamily, but continued onward.

A bit of a ways down this road a small crowd had gathered at one of the booths.

The group approached it curiously.

Shou, being the tallest out of the bunch, even taller than Byakuren, peeked above the crowd’s heads.

“What’s happening?” Nazrin asked her.

Shou stood on her tiptoes as she squinted.

“Some kind of game it looks like.” Shou said. “Uh…”

Kyouko tugged on Shou’s arm.

“Fishing?”

“No. No.” Shou shook her head. “Oh, uh, Mamizou’s coming.” Shou said as she motioned off into the crowd.

A few moments later, Mamizou did indeed appear. She gave the group a wide grin and a small nod of acknowledgement. In her arms she had a blue jacket accented with thick white fur. It was much too small to be hers.

Shou gave her a suspicious look.

“You didn’t… take that from someone in the crowd, did you?”

“What? This?” Mamizou snorted and glanced down towards the jacket. “Nah, just holding this for a pretty girl.” She gave a toothy grin. “You always assume I’m up to the worst. I’m hurt.”

“I just asked…” Shou said with a frown.

“What’s the crowd for?” Kyouko asked.

“Oh, right.” Mamizou nodded back towards the crowd. “They’re all signing up for a tug of war game they’re gonna be holding later on tonight.” She grinned. “Sounds like a lot of fun.”

“Oh!” Kyouko bounced. Her guitar rattled in its case.

“Thought you’d like it, so I signed us all up already.” Mamizou said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small orange slip of paper. She adjusted her glasses and squinted at it. “Says we’re up at… 9 pm. I hope the Taoists are playing too. Can you imagine the hell that’d break out if they put us up against each other? Actually… now that I think about it, that seems like something these guys would pull for publicity.” Mamizou cackled.

“Wait…” Shou frowned. “You already signed us up.”

“Yep.” Mamizou nodded and folded her arms.

“Won’t that mean that all of us are going to have to be down here for it? Who’s going to watch the temple!?”

“Uh.” Mamizou shrugged. “Can’t we just leave it unattended for a half hour?”

“No! We’ll have guests!”

“We ain’t gonna have guests! All our followers are gonna be down here rooting us on!”

Shou frowned and sighed.

“I don’t think so…”

“Well, I do.” Mamizou shrugged and tucked the paper back away. “If you’re so adamant on caring for the temple, I’ll just pop up a few replicas of us and have them stand around and look pretty.” Mamizou cackled.

This only made Shou sigh exasperated.

Byakuren took a step beside her and gave her a reassuring grin. Shou only sighed again.

“Shou, dear,” Byakuren began, “I can tend to the temple while you participate.”

“No way!” Mamizou frowned. “What’ll they think when their main monk is missing?”

Seija actually chuckled at these words.

“Listen, really.” Mamizou said as she fixed her glasses again, “Just spread the word that everyone will be down here at that time and everyone will understand. I doubt they’ll find praying is more interesting then seeing Byakuren Hijiri flex her strength for once.” Mamizou snickered. “Plus, if they’re prayers were really that urgent that they couldn’t wait a half an hour I doubt that prayer would even help at that point.” Mamizou cackled.

Seija looked as if she were struggling very hard not to laugh along.

Byakuren simply sighed.

“Miss Mamizou…”

“I’m right, ain’t I?” Mamizou snickered. Her ear twitched and she looked over back into the crowd. “Anyway, I gotta get going again.” She said as she turned and began heading in the direction her ear had turned. "I’ll catch up with you guys later.”

She hurried forward a few steps, then hesitated.

“Oh, and, uh…” Mamizou glanced over her shoulder, “If you see Nue, tell her to avoid the stage at… oh, around 10 tonight. I heard Hoshi’s gonna be dancing… Don’t want to get her in one of her lovesick moods. I can’t stand seeing her like that.”

“Will do.” Nazrin said with a little nod.

Mamizou grinned a toothy grin at her, then turned and hurried off back into the crowd.

 

 

 

As the sun began to set in the western sky, Byakuren found herself flooded with visitors for the first time all day.

She had returned back to the temple shortly after meeting up with Mamizou, but things had been surprisingly quiet up until now. She suspected everyone had been too busy being immersed in the celebration down in town to take time to visit.

The sunset filled the temple’s halls with an orange hue. The warm lights danced across the wooden floorboards.

The temperature was beginning to drop. The visitors earlier on in the day were dressed in colorful yukatas and happis. Now, they were increasingly donning their winter jackets.

Byakuren found herself out front listening to an old married couple go on about how they days kept getting shorter and shorter with the approach of winter.

A large group of teenage boys made their way up the temple steps. She excused herself from the conversation she was currently in to greet them.

Byakuren was familiar with them. The boys were all brothers. They were the sons of the Ame family that lived near the center of town. Each and every one had skin that was lightly tinted green. The two oldest brothers as well as the youngest brother had rectangular black pupils. Their mother was a race of frog youkai, their father was a human. They were well known in town ever since the day of their births. It wasn’t every day seven brothers were born on a single night, regardless of race. Their mother had been quite the fighter and managed to handle the deliveries with amazing strength and grace. Their father, on the other hand, rumors had it, had fainted two sons in.

They were good boys, but more well behaved around their parents.

The third oldest, Ayaki, gave Byakuen a very wide grin. His thin long lips stretched to an inhuman length across his face.

Byakuren smiled back and gave them a bow before excusing herself to go to greet them.

“Hey, Miss Hijiri.” Arata said with a bow. He was the fifth son, and the shortest. His messy black hair flopped down in his face.

“Good afternoon, boys.” Byakuren said warmly.

“Our parents sent us up here.” Aoi, the oldest said. Aside from his unique pupils, he resembled his father more than any of his other brothers.

“Oh, is that so?” Byakuren nodded. She knew their mother, Asaka, couldn’t handle the cold well. She had likely stayed in.

“Yeah, our dad says sorry he couldn’t come up here. Hurt his foot.” The fourth oldest son, Atsushi, said.

“No worries. Tell your father I hope he feels better.” Byakuren said with a small polite nod.

The sixth son, Akito, began fishing around in his pocket for something. His complexion was that of his mother's, green and bumpy. It glistened in the fading light. He pulled out a small envelope and presented it to Byakuren with a low bow.

“We were told to give you this.” He said as Byakuren accepted it.

“Oh?” Byakuren turned the envelope over in her hand. It was long and thin and addressed to the temple. She peeked inside and saw a decent amount of money. She gave them a very low bow. Her long hair moved with this motion, it hung down in front of her face. “Thank you very much. Our temple greatly appreciates the kindness of the Ame family.”

The second son, Akihito, gave a croaky chuckle.

“No need for thanks, Miss Hijiri.” He said.

Byakuren stood back up straight and shook her head.

“But there is.” She said with a nod. “Any donation to our temple, be it big or small, is much appreciated. You have our gratitude.”

Before any of the sons could respond, a loud pounding noise carried over to their ears.

They all turned and looked down the steps.

Through the trees, just faintly in the distance, the village was only just visible. It was glowing now as more and more people began to light lanterns. Reds, yellows, and blues glared to life as the sun struggled and failed to remain hanging on the horizon.

The pounding noise happened again, then again. Apparently the performances were beginning.

Byakuren could recognize that sound anywhere, it was that red head on the taiko drums she had seen in the kappa village. Now that she thought about it… wasn’t that red head the same young woman she had seen in town today? She shook her head to clear her head of this distracting thought.

“Sounds like things are really starting to pick up.” Byakuren said with a small smile.

“Yep.” Akito nodded. he looked at the lights longingly.

“I won’t keep you if you wish to go back down and have fun.” Byakuren smiled.

The brothers looked a bit relieved at her words.

“Thanks, Miss Hijiri.” Ayaki said. “Our parents kinda forced us to do this.”

Atsushi smacked Ayaki upside the back of his head.

“Don’t say that, dope. You insulting little...” Atsushi huffed. Ayaki gave him a cold look.

“Do not worry.” Byakuren chuckled lightly, “No harm done.”

“Sorry, Miss Hijiri, Ayaki is a real space case.” Atsushi said.

“Am not! Shut up!” Ayaki stomped a webbed foot. His geta clacked loudly against the stone ground.

Byakuren gave them an uncomfortable smile.

“Now, now…”

“We’ll go.” Said Aoi as he gave his two brothers a very dirty look.

Byakuren smiled and nodded.

“Have a fun time.” She gave them a small bow. “Maybe we’ll bump into each other later.”

A few of them nodded, a few of them looked uncomfortable at this possibility.

“Goodbye, Miss Hijiri.” The youngest, Denji, said.

Byakuren waved. “Goodbye.”

With that, the brothers started turning and heading back down the steps.

A few steps down, Akito turned back to look at Byakuren.

“Hey, is it true?” Akito asked.

“Hm?” Byakuren blinked.

“Did you really take in an oni?”

“What?” Byakuren frowned.

The other brothers stopped to listen.

“There’s some horned girl walking around town wearing one of those shirts.” Akito motioned over to Byakuren’s _I’m Hijiri_ shirt. “Well, not that exact one, but you know…”

“Ah…” Byakuren brought her hands together. “She is not an oni, but yes she is a new member of my family.”

“Then what is she?” Denji asked.

“Ah, she is an amanojaku.” Byakuren nodded.

Denji raised an eyebrow. His mouth fell open.

“Not… not the one who was responsible for those incidents, right?” He asked slowly.

Byakuren frowned.

“Well…”

The group fell silent.

“She did have quite the violent streak back in the day. But I can assure you she won’t be behind anymore incidents…” Byakuren said slowly.

Denji closed his mouth, but raised his other eyebrow.

“Oh.” He shrugged simply.

Byakuren was a little surprised by this. She wasn’t quite expecting such a simple reaction.

“That’s fine. Just wondering. My mom was scared. She thought it was Ibuki’s sister or something.”

“Miss Suika has a sister?” Byakuren blinked.

“I dunno, but our town would sure be in trouble if she did.” Denji snorted.

Byakuren couldn’t help but grin as well.

“Come on, Denji.” Aoi said with a huff. “I have a date, remember?”

“Who could forget?” Ayaki snickered. “You only reminded us every five minutes.”

“Shut up!” Aoi blushed. He gave Byakuren an embarrassed glance. “Geez…”

Byakuren chuckled lightly in response.

“Have a nice night.”

“You too. Don’t rip anyone’s arm off in the tug of war match!” Akihito said with a wave as he started down the steps again.

“I won’t!” Byakuren said lamely back.

 

 

 

Being kept busy only made the hours rush by.

Before long, she found herself back in the village.

By now, everything was in full swing.

The streets were flooded with people, voices, and lights. The smell of food hung in the air.

Above, the sky was clear and black, only broken up by the occasional dot of a star. The light pollution dulled down the clear beautiful sky that usually hung above. Now, only the strongest and brightest stars were visible against the haze the lights created.

The pounding of the taiko drums had long ago stopped and instead been replaced by a pleasant upbeat melody created by the three Prismriver sisters who had taken the stage in place of the redhead and her companions.

They had been on for quite some time, Kyouko should be taking the stage soon. She would be able to do a two hour set before she would be rotated off again, most likely by the taiko player if she had her way.

Byakuren squeezed passed the crowds as she looked for a familiar face.

Up ahead, she caught sight of Nue sitting at a small table that had been set up at the end of this road. A few other tables were also located here. It seemed the tea shop nearby had prepared outdoor dining for those who didn’t want to miss out on any of the excitement.

Seated across from Nue was a tall blonde haired girl with hair that was chopped just above her shoulders. She was dressed in a lovely blue yukata that was opened enough to reveal peeks of her shoulders.

Against her better judgement, Byakuren decided to test her luck and butt into the conversation.

Nue saw Byakuren coming from a distance, her smile fell a bit, but remained polite.

Byakuren simply grinned back.

As she approached the table, the blonde girl turned to see what Nue was looking at. She blinked up at Byakuren.

Byakuren saw she had grey eyes and thick lips. She had a long pretty face and delicate jawbone, just like all the other girls that Nue took favor to. Byakuren could also see that the girl had a strong wide frame that was not easily concealed by her thin yukata.

The girls eyes moved across Byakuren’s face, then traveled down lower to her shirt. She let out a snort and covered her mouth.

Nue blushed.

“Hello, sorry to intrude.” Byakuren said.

The girl waved it off.

“No, no. Don’t be. I’ve been curious as to who this Hijiri is all night. Nice to meet you, I’m Qi Rang.”

Byakuren gave her a polite bow.

“Byakuren Hijiri.”

Nue sighed quietly and folded her arms. She really did look cold.

Byakuren shot her a look that clearly said “ _Why don’t you put on a coat? You’re going to catch a cold. I respect your independence as a person, and I know you want to look nice and feel nice about looking nice, but it won’t do you any good if you get a cough. At least why don’t you get out of the cold? I’m sure Qi Rang wouldn’t mind stopping inside a shop to warm up. She’s also wearing something that’s thin. Be responsible. I’ve raised you to be responsible._ ”

Maybe this look was a little too complex for Nue to comprehend. She tilted her head confused in response.

To clear up any confusion Byakuren said, “It’s getting cold out here.”

Nue nodded at this.

“It’s not that bad.”

“It’s not. I’m actually getting a little warm.” Qi Rang said.

Byakuren looked down at her, confused to whether or not Qi Rang was possibly a Yuki Onna or perhaps maybe that was some type of sexual innuendo that she didn’t want to wrap her mind around.

"Nue..." Byakuren began, attempting to draw her mind away from that possibility. "Do you know a woman named Raiko? She said she wanted to speak to you..."

Nue gave Byakuren a look that clearly said " _Not in front of this beautiful woman that I'm trying to impress_."

Qi Rang blinked, confused. 

Byakuren just shook her head.

“Well, have you seen anyone lately?” She asked as she tried to move the conversation into a different direction.

“Oh, yeah,” Nue nodded. “Just saw the lot of them heading towards the stage. I think Kyouko’s about to go on.”

“Oh?” Qi Rang perked up. “I didn’t know you knew any musicians!”

Nue shook her head.

“Just Kyouko, really… she’s… uh, got a… certain style to her singing…”

“Can we go see?” Qi Rang sat up.

Byakuren realized Qi Rang had been slouching a bit. She was alarmingly tall. Maybe she wasn’t a Yuki Onna. Maybe she had oni blood in her.

“Don’t worry.” Nue shook her head. “We’ll be able to hear her from here.”

Qi Rang looked a little disappointed by this.

Nue only shook her head again.

“Go tell the kid good luck for me.” Nue said to Byakuren. Byakuren nodded.

“Will do.”

And with that she gave the two a polite bow and headed off in search of them.

They weren’t very hard to find. Shou stood a good head over the majority of the people here.

Shou grinned when she saw Byakuren coming.

“Hello!” She called.

Byakuren smiled back as she approached them.

Here, the crowd was thick. It took a bit of squeezing and apologizing to make her way forward.

On stage, the Prismrivers were really going at it.

They were in the middle of a song, and giving it their all.

It was amazing how loud they were able to get. Not nearly as loud as that taiko player, but they put up quite the effort.

Byakuren saw blond hair on the stage glint off the lamplights. Lunasa was apparently very moved with this beat. She swayed back and forth quickly and enthusiastically as she sawed on her violin.

Byakuren finally managed to approached the group.

Kyouko moved forwards towards her and gave her a nervous smile.

“You’ll do amazing…” Byakuren smiled as she ruffled Kyouko’s hair.

Kyouko’s smile grew a bit, but her tail had stopped wagging.

“Nue says good luck.” Byakuren smiled.

Kyouko nodded.

“Yeah yeah…”

Byakuren looked up and moved her gaze around the rest of the group.

To her surprise, Seija was still here. Byakuren wasn’t positive if this was Kyouko’s clinging’s doing, or if she had elected to stay on her own.

The melody changed and the sound of trumpets blared over the crowd. People cheered.

Byakuren glanced back over at the stage.

Merlin was almost doubled over, she was blowing into the trumpet for dear life.

“Wow…”

“Sure have been enthusiastic.” Nazrin said boredly. “That trumpets givin’ me a headache.”

Byakuren smiled down at her.

She hadn’t noticed till now, but standing besides Nazrin was Mystia, Kyouko’s band mate.

Mystia had on a pair of sunglasses and sported her own Choujuu Gigaku shirt. This one had been inked in pink and had a very large angry looking crow drawn on it. She blinked up at Byakuren nervously through her glasses. She was gripping onto her own guitar case. Her knuckles were squeezed so tightly around its handle, they were turning white.

Byakuren smiled warmly back.

“Hello, Mystia.”

“Hello…” Mystia said. She fidgeted. She was always so quiet around Byakuren.

“I’m looking forward to hearing you sing.” Byakuren said.

“Thanks…” Mystia said.

The crowd cheered as the melody changed again. The Prismrivers doubled their volume as the end of the song neared.

Byakuren’s ears rang.

“We should get going.” Kyouko said as she began tugging off her purple shirt. Her Choujuu Gigaku shirt looked quite different now that it was on her. It was a bit comical to see someone with her childlike appearance wearing skulls and hydras, but she wore it proudly. She tucked the lavender shirt under her arm.

“Good luck.” Byakuren said. She crouched down to kiss her forehead, but Kyouko took a step back embarrassed.

“Mooommmm…..” Kyouko huffed. Her cheeks turned pink.

“Sorry, sorry…” Byakuren gave her a smile. “I love you. Good luck, dear.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Kyouko puffed out her cheeks and folded her arms. She glanced over at Mystia. “You ready?”

“Yep.” Mystia nodded.

“We’ll be around here when you come off stage, ok? Look for us.” Byakuren said and she resisted pulling Kyouko into a hug.

Kyouko nodded.

A hand appeared on Kyouko’s shoulder.

Kyouko blinked and turned to see that it belonged to Seija.

It was difficult to tell in the red lamplight, but Seija looked to be blushing. She gave Kyouko’s shoulder a squeeze.

“...I’ll be the one booing the loudest.” She said.

Kyouko snorted and gave Seija a wide grin. She nudged her.

“I’ll be listening for you then!” Kyouko nodded. Her ears flapped.

Seija gave her a small half formed grin.

With that, Kyouko and Mystia hurried off towards the stage.

They watched them as they left.

“We’ll want to get back a few hundred feet.” Nazrin shrugged.

“No, she has to at least see us when she goes on.” Shou said as she folded her arms.

Byakuren wrung her hands together and looked onto the stage.

The Prismrivers finished up their song, and the crowd clapped as they took their bows.

“They’re so stuck up.” Seija said as she folded her arms.

“All their songs sound the same to me.” Nazrin said with a nod.

“At least Kyouko has some range.” Seija huffed.

Nazrin nodded in agreement.

The crowd quieted down a bit as the Prismrivers left the stage.

A few moments later, Kyouko and Mystia appeared in their places.

Byakuren, Nazrin, and Shou cheered loudly.

From somewhere not too far away another small group of people cheered. Apparently they were Mystia’s friends.

Kyouko glanced over at Byakuren. Byakuren gave her a double thumbs up. Kyouko grinned and gave the crowd a large wave. She took in a deep breath.

“ **HELLO GENSOKOYO!** ” She shouted. The air reverberated with her voice. A few hundred people in the front covered their ears. The rest just cheered louder.

“She’ll do fine…” Shou said, more to herself than anyone.

Byakuren nodded, also more to herself than anyone.

“ **We’re Choujuu Gigaku!** ” Kyouko’s voice rang out again. The lanterns hanging on the stage flapped wildly. “ **And we’re going to rock you!** ”

“Who keeps teaching her to speak like that?” Byakuren sighed.

“My money's on Mamizou.” Nazrin snorted.

Byakuren sighed again and nodded.

Kyouko and Mystia both strummed their guitars as they started off their first song.

Admittedly, it wasn’t as much of a song as an experience. An experience of trying to muscle through ear splitting noise that shook to the bone.

Halfway through one of their songs, Mystia did that trick of hers, several people in the front row started having vision problems. Some were very frightened by this, others were oddly accepting of it. Byakuren suspected that these people must be already too intoxicated to realize any vision changes.

Byakuren wondered if the taiko player had sounded this loud, but couldn’t recall well enough with Kyouko’s voice screaming in her ears. She couldn’t hear herself think, but that wasn’t much of a problem because she decided to  cast off all thoughts and force herself into a half conscious meditation around the same time the lyrics started chanting  “ **BLOOD!** ” over and over. She would rather not be present to experience much worse than that.

But, later rather than sooner, the noise stopped as their last song came to a close.

Blissful quiet filled the air at last.

Byakuren was grateful for this, any longer, and she was suspicious the demons of Makai would have appeared to offer Kyouko up a lead spot in their choruses.

Kyouko and Mystia bowed as their last song finished. Byakuren gave an encouraging cheer, as did Shou, Nazrin, and surprisingly Seija. Seija even put two fingers in her mouth and whistled.

Kyouko looked over into the crowd and met eyes with Seija. She beamed. Seija smiled back.

Kyouko and Mystia exited the stage a few moments later.

Byakuren and the rest of the group rushed over to greet them.

As Kyouko made her way down the stairs Byakuren rushed forward and scooped her up into her arms.

Kyouko let out a surprised yelp as Byakuren squeezed her.

“I’m so proud!” Byakuren gushed.

“Mom! Put me down!” Kyouko wailed, her legs kicking.

Byakuren gave her another squeeze before lowering her carefully onto the ground.

Kyouko blushed and folded her arms.

“Geez!” She said with a pout.

Two people rushed passed Byakuren and tackled Mystia.

Mystia squawked as she was hit with the blunt force of their bodies.

Byakuren recognized these two as Rumia and Cirno.

Kyouko shifted uncomfortably at the sight of Rumia and subconsciously reached up and patted her ear where Rumia had bit her.

Two more people squeezed past Byakuren. She recognized these as Wriggle Nightbug and Daiyousei. They shouted words of congratulations at Mystia.

Kyouko chuckled and shook her head.

“So I sounded good?” She asked, eyes glistening.

Byakuren swallowed, her throat was dry.

“The best.” Nazrin answered for her.

Kyouko beamed.

“Great! I knew I’d be ok! I practiced so much…”

“You did.” Byakuren smiled as she patted Kyouko’s shoulder.

Kyouko chuckled. Her cheeks were flushed from the excitement. Her bangs clung to her forehead with sweat. Her tail was wagging.

Mamizou appeared next to them as she pushed through the crowd. She had her pipe bitten tightly between her teeth. She grinned when she saw them.

“Hey!” She called with a wave.

“Mamizou!” Kyouko beamed.

“Heard ya from across town, kid.” Mamizou said ruffling Kyouko’s hair. “Good job.”

“Thanks!” Kyouko’s tail started wagging even faster.

“Finished just in time too.” Mamizou nodded. “You guys ready for our turn at tug of war?”

“I forgot about that…” Shou frowned.

Mamizou cackled. “How could you forget about it?” Her shoulders shook with her laugh. Her tail bounced. “We’re gonna make our temple proud by beating those Taoist’s you know?”

“So we really are going up against them…?” Shou frowned.

Mamizou nodded. She puffed two clouds of smoke out her nose. “Yep. At least that’s what I understand.”

“Oh..” Shou frowned. She wrung her hands together.

“Don’t worry.” Mamizou snorted. “We got all the brawn on our side.” She gave Byakuren a wink.

 

 

 

“You can’t just have all the brawn on your side.” The kappa in charge of the tug of war said as she folded her arms. She had straight green hair that was chopped short into a pixie cut. One of her thick eyebrows twitched annoyedly. She looked up at Byakuren with a frown on her red glossed lips. “It’s an unfair advantage.”

“You’re just going to tell us the leader of our temple can’t be a part of our team?” Nazrin asked as she narrowed her eyes.

The kappa nodded. She glanced back behind her.

Through the crowd that was gathered here, the Taoists were just barely visible a few dozen yards away.

Miko had taken off that haori and was now stretching.

Futo stood at Miko’s side. Futo had tied up their sleeves and was working on adjusting their ponytail.

The crowd shifted, and the group was hidden from sight.

“Also, you’ve got way too many members.” The kappa said with a nod. “The other team only has five. And you have…” The kappa started counting. “Nine? Does that cloud guy count?”

Unzan made a very disgruntled rumble.

Ichirin pouted and patted his side.

“It’s ok, Unzan…” She said"

“S’not our fault the Taoists aren’t popular.” Murasa huffed.

The kappa rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

“Rules are rules. I can’t just let Miss Hijiri play. And you need to cut down your team. You’re lucky I’m even letting you have five members. That Jiang Shi shouldn’t even count for them…” The kappa sighed and shook her head.

Byakuren glanced back at the group gathered around her.

Everyone was sporting the same miffed expression.

She sighed.

“Well, no use arguing over it.”

“Is too!” Murasa huffed.

Beside her, Nazrin nodded.

Byakuren only shook her head.

“Let’s not waste our time being angry about this. Instead, let’s strategize and decide who we should use as our five members.”

Mamizou nodded. Her glasses glinted in the red lamplight.

“Let’s just pick the burliest out of all of us. So…” She scratched her chin. One of her ears twitched. “Murasa, Me, Unzan, Nue, and Shou.”

“Yeah, I’m thinking Mr. Fists is going to be an unfair advantage too.” The kappa said as she eyed Unzan. “Sorry.”

Mamizou’s face darkened a bit she leaned down to look the kappa in the eye.

“Why don’t you just tell us who can and can’t play, huh?” Her voice came out dangerously low.

“Uh, ok.” The kappa blinked flatly back up at Mamizou. She glanced around the group. Her eyes landed on Seija. “What are you? An oni?”

“Yes.” Seija snorted.

Nue smacked her arm.

Seija’s face twisted into a snarl. She clenched her fists and took a step forward into Nue’s face, but Byakuren moved between them and pushed them apart.

“She’s too scrawny to be an oni.” Called a kappa from nearby. She had apparently been listening in on the conversation.

Seija directed her dark look over to her. Byakuren just sighed and held tightly onto her shoulder in case she decided to go after her.

“She’s an amanojaku.” Mamizou said as she observed the exchange with a distasteful look.

“Oh.” The green haired kappa raised her eyebrows and squinted at Seija. “Yeah, ok, I see it now. Sure, she can play… Uh… as for you…” The kappa said looking up at Mamizou, “You’re not gonna shapeshift into a deva or something, right?”

Mamizou rolled her eyes.

“If I did that, you’d all see it.”

“I guess.” The kappa shrugged. She glanced around the group one more time. “Ok, Hijiri and Pinky are out. Everyone else is fair game.”

The group collectively sighed.

Mamizou glanced around the group with a nod.

“Ok, so, me, Shou, Murasa, Nue, and Ichirin.”

Ichirin blushed and gave Mamizou an award winning grin.

“I’ll do my best!” She said clenching a fist for emphasis.

Behind her, Unzan gave a little rumbling chuckle.

“I think that team would be ok.” Byakuren said with a nod.

Mamizou grinned, her teeth flashed. “Good.” She said with a nod.

From within the crowd another kappa had started shouting.

“Can we clear out?!” Her voice came, “Come on, people, we’re starting!”

The group around this kappa took a few steps back as it began to thin.

Byakuren wrung her hands together.

The Taoists were visible again, she could see Seiga giving her a very dirty look from across the way.

The green haired kappa that had previously been talking to them left their side, and moved off into the thinning crowd. She met up with another kappa that was nearby. This kappa was toting along a very thick brown rope. The green haired kappa took one end of the rope and began stepping backwards away from the other kappa as she gradually pulled it more and more tight.

By now, the crowd had lessened to half of what it was, those that were still around had to step aside to make room for the rope that was slicing through the masses of people.

“Can I have the teams step up?!” Called that same kappa. Now she was visible, she had dark navy blue hair that was tied up tightly in a bun. She was shorter than the other kappas, and had a face full of freckles.

“Good luck.” Byakuren said as she lightly patted Mamizou on the arm.

Mamizou nodded and gave her a wink.

“We’ll make you proud, Hijiri.” Mamizou responded with a playful half smirk.

And with that, the five of them moved forward beside the green haired kappa once more.

“Let’s move closer.” Nazrin said as she began to follow them.

Byakuren nodded and led them forward a few feet to where the front of the crowd now stood.

The Taoists were now standing beside the rope on the opposite end across from the five.

Miko stood in the front, then Tojiko, followed by Yoshika and Seiga then finally Futo at the end.

Miko glanced over at Byakuren, and they met eyes.

Miko gave Byakuren a cocky grin and wink.

Byakuren offered up a small smile back

“Look at that smug look.” Nazrin sighed as she folded her arms.

“Gonna smack it off Miko’s face.” Seija nodded in agreement.

Byakuren sighed and patted both of them on the back.

The crowd began quieting as the kappas moved away from the rope.

There was a long drawn out moment of hushed anticipation as both groups picked up the rope.

The freckled kappa moved out directly in the center of the rope. She began ordering the groups to inch this way and that as she evened it out.

Then, she cleared her throat and held up a small shiny silver whistle.

“Alright!” She called. Her loud voice did not fit her tiny body at all. “We’re gonna be starting. Simple rules, the Taoists are gonna try to pull this white mark on the rope,” She motioned down to a small white strip painted on the rope, “Over to that line,” She motioned over to a white line drawn onto the street a few feet over to the Taoist’s side. “And the Buddhists are gonna try to pull it over to that line.” She motioned over to a similar white marking in the road on the Buddhist’s side. “Don’t want no fishy business.” She called. “Any cheating will lead to an automatic disqualification!”

Beside Byakuren, Seija shifted a bit.

Byakuren glanced down at her, but Seija didn’t look up.

Byakuren could only just see her eyes barely as they were hidden from view a decent bit by her messy bangs.

Her eyes were gazing straight forward, her thick eyebrows were low.

“Alright?!” The kappa said as she took a step back.

Both groups nodded in agreement. They tensed and gripped onto the rope tightly.

The kappa nodded and brought her arm up above her head.

“On the whistle.” She said as she moved the whistle up inches from her lips. “Three… two… one…” She brought her arm down and blew into the whistle. It let out a long shrill _priiii._ The next moment, the crowd let out a cheer as the rope suddenly tightened as either side yanked it forward.

Byakuren brought her hands together nervously.

Beside her, Kyouko let out an encouraging hoot.

The rope whined as it tightened even more.

“Musta done something to reenforce it.” Nazrin said. “That rope would’ve snapped by now if they hadn’t done some kappa science on it.”

Byakuren saw Miko’s face turn pink with strain.

The rope was tugged a half a centimeter towards the Buddhist side.

Tojiko clenched her teeth and puffed out her cheeks.

Mamizou, who was standing in at the back of the Buddhist’s line, dug her feet into the ground and held her breath as she gave a forceful yank that didn’t do much good.

The rope moved right towards the Buddhist’s side again.

Murasa let out a throaty chuckle as her knuckles went white.

“Fie…” Futo huffed as a bead of sweat trickled down their cheek.

Byakuren held her breath. Only now she realized she was gripping onto Kyouko’s shoulder for support.

Kyouko didn’t seem bothered by this. She had her fists clenched and her tail was wagging wildly. Her ears were pressed flatly down on her head as she watched the scene in front of her intently.

The rope moved again, this time to the left on the Taoist’s side.

Miko’s face twisted into a little strained smirk.

The rope whined and moved towards the left again, this time a good two inches.

Mamizou’s feet dragged against the ground.

“COME ON!” Kyouko called. Her voice echoed through the crowd.

Nue let her head fall back as she gave a large tug. The rope didn’t budge.

Seiga bit at her lip as she gripped onto the rope even tighter.

The rope moved again, and again, the Taoist’s gained another inch.

Kyouko’s ears flattened even more. She balled her fists.

Futo gave a loud huff and tensed as their face turned red.

The rope moved back two inches over to the Buddhists side.

Miko’s eyebrows knitted together as the Buddhists gained another inch.

Tojiko squeezed her eyes shut and grunted.

The lamplight coming from the lanterns hanging above shone against the sweat beading at her forehead.

The rope moved again, another two inches to the right. Murasa, who was standing at the front of the Buddhist side, smirked widely.

Miko saw this and frowned.

Miko gave the rope another yank, and it moved over to the Taoist side again, then again.

In one long moment, the Taoist’s regained all the length they had lost and then some more.

Byakuren held her breath.

The white line on the rope was getting dangerously close to the marking on the Taoists’ side.

Kyouko whimpered.

“Mamizou’s slipping....” She said.

Byakuren looked, and saw there were two long trails in the road where Mamizou’s feet had been dragged through.

The red hue of the lanterns beamed down onto the ground, their flickering flames heated the air and fought off the cold of the fall night.

The wind was still as was everyone as they watched that white line get closer and closer to the mark.

Then, suddenly, the rope was flying through the air.

All five of the Taoists were on the ground, their legs were sprawled out in front of them as they landed hardly on their backs.

The rope slackened as they let go, and whipped towards the Buddhists’ side.

They too fell to the ground, landing on their butts.

Byakuren gaped.

The crowd went silent at first, then erupted in chaos.

“What just happened?” Kyouko said as her eyes went wide.

A pair of kappas hurried forwards to assess the situation.

The Taoists let out groans of pain as they sat back up.

Tojiko rubbed her back and leaned forward to say something into Miko’s ear.

Seiga grumbled and slowly got to her feet.

Futo followed and helped Yoshika up as well.

The kappas split up and moved to either side.

The kappa with the short green pixie cut crouched down next to Miko and was saying something that was drowned out by the crowd.

The freckled kappa helped Murasa up to her feet and glanced over at Miko with her brow furrowed.

“Think the prince broke any bones?” Nazrin snorted.

“Now, now…” Byakuren said distractedly.

The two kappas had come together and were discussing something passionately.

Byakuren bit her lip as Seiga sauntered up to them.

Seiga leaned down and said something to them, then all three suddenly cast glances over towards Byakuren.

Byakuren frowned and blinked nervously.

She realized that they weren’t looking at her. Instead, they had their eyes fixated on Seija.

She too glanced down at her.

Seija was grinning ear to ear. Her sharp teeth were showing. Her red eyes were dancing.

“Seija…” She said cautiously. “You didn’t.”

“Didn’t what?” She asked slyly as her grin grew.

Beside her, Nazrin sighed.

“Seija…” Byakuren frowned.

The kappas moved over in their direction.

Seija remained silent.

The kappas approached them. They were frowning and casting very dark looks over at Seija.

“The Taoists say they felt like they got knocked over by something.” The freckled one said.

Seija tilted her head to the side. The red streak in her bangs moved a little with the motion.

“Oh?” She asked. Her voice came out laughing.

The green haired kappa grunted.

“Lady Kaku said you have an ability to turn things on their heads.” The kappa said as she folded her arms.

“Now why would she say a thing like that?” Seija’s voice came out as a poorly contained giggle.

Both kappas sighed and glanced up at Byakuren.

Byakuren frowned down at them.

They shook their heads and moved back over to the center of the crowd.

The freckled kappa cleared her voice before glancing between the two ruffled teams.

“Due to suspicions of foul play, the Buddhists have been disqualified!” She shouted.

The crowd broke out into chaos again.

Murasa took several large steps forward towards the kappas, looking very mad. Ichirin hurried forward and held her back.

Mamizou and Nue both cast dirty looks over at Seija.

Seija simply smiled back at them.

Byakuren sighed and put her face in her hands.

“At least it was a disqualification and not a loss…” Kyouko said quietly as she looked up at Seija.

“Stupid, that’s even worse.” Nazrin said. “Now they think we’re a bunch of cheaters. Which we are. _Seija_.” Nazrin huffed and folded her arms.

Byakuren looked up from her hands and lightly touched Seija’s shoulder.

“Seija, sweetie…”

Seija glanced up at her, sporting a toothy smirk.

“Yes, monk?”

“Maybe… that wasn’t the best course of action…”

Seija’s smirk widened.

Before she could answer, Nue was suddenly in her face, her arm was winded back.

Seija had just a brief second to register what was happening before Nue’s fist shot forward and collided with her nose.

Seija stumbled backwards, and was caught by Unzan. She grunted and cupped at her face. Tears were pooling in her eyes.

“Fucking idiot!” Nue spat.

Mamizou appeared beside her, and pulled her away from Seija before she could land another hit.

Byakuren frowned and stepped between them.

“Now, now…” She said as she put her hands up defensively.

“Let’s not let this get out of control.”

Seija straightened herself back up, still cupping her face and wincing. She was trying to give Nue a nasty look, but couldn’t through the pain. Her eyes watered dangerously. She wiped them with the back of her free hand.

Byakuren put a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off violently.

Seija moved her hand away from her face, her nose was bleeding heavily. Scarlet stains ran down from her nostrils and trickled down her chin.

She tried to wipe the blood away, but winced as her knuckles came in contact with her nose. She stopped, and only managed to smear the blood onto her cheek and fingers.

Byakuren reached into her shirt and pulled out her handkerchief. She extended it to Seija.

Seija batted it away with a grunt and a curse.

“You’re bleeding badly, Seija.” Byakuren frowned as she moved forward and dabbed at just above her lips. “Just let me help.”

Seija moved to push her hand away, but accidentally lowered her head a bit too much with the movement, causing Byakuren’s hand to nudge at her nose.

Seija saw stars.

Unzan had to steady her again.

“I’m sorry....” Byakuren frowned.

Seija mumbled something that vaguely sounded like a “screw off.”

She straightened herself back up again and gave Byakuren and Nue equally dirty looks.

Byakuren sighed and glanced around.

Everyone had seen the exchange.

The Taoists were looking over at them.

Futo and Tojiko wore equally smug looks.

Seiga was glaring.

Miko met eyes with her and frowned.

Byakuren saw Miko sigh before looking away.

Byakuren sighed as well. She felt her cheeks heat up.

“Let me walk you back to the temple.” Byakuren said down to Seija. “We’ll stop that bleeding.”

 

 

 

_AN: Hey, so, sorry this was posted a little later on in the day than what I usually shoot for, busy with my schedule being jacked up with weird work hours_

_ANYWAY_

_Nothing really new to say, stories gonna continue on... Things are about to happen I guess I'll just say that_

_Thanks for sticking with me if you have for so long, it really really really really means the world to me so thank you so much_

_Shout outs to the usual gang, Purivs, Aaron, Noe, Toad, Elly, and you [ wink ] ilyasm_

_Thanks again [ heart hands ]_

 

 


	7. Part 7

The trip back to the temple was quiet.

The dark sky hanging overhead was still. The small grey clouds adorning it were hesitant and nonmoving.

The moon was halved in the sky. The light it provided lay down on the path ahead, faintly illuminating it in a dull milky light.

The flames on the altars of the shrines lining the road flickered silently. The small amount of light was insignificant against the veil of shadows the night provided, but they burned nonetheless.

The candlelight flooded down out of the shrines, and flickered up against the inner statues that adorned them.

The unsteady light danced across the statues' faces, almost creating the illusion of movement. A stone muscle would seem to twitch, or a granite eyelid would appear to blink in the orange light.

The air was tense and quiet. It was filled with the thick jarring scent of incense burning.

Byakuren and Seija’s footsteps crunched against the fallen leaves as they made their way back to the temple.

Seija was at Byakuren’s side, still clutching Byakuren’s handkerchief to her bloody nose. Her head was hung low, she was peering out in front of her through her thick black lashes. Her eyebrows were low and brought together. Her shoulders were tense.

Byakuren watched her out of the corner of her eye.

Her stomach stirred the entire time.

Before long, the temple was just up ahead.

They silently made their way up the front steps.

The jizou statue silently greeted them with his unchanging calm smile. The shawl around his shoulders was unmoving in the still air.

Byakuren and Seija continued up the steps, and entered the temple together.

Byakuren stopped to remove her boots, but Seija did no such thing.

Instead, she made her way straight into the temple, not even turning back to close the door behind her.

Byakuren frowned and shut it for her before moving forward after her.

“Seija.” She said. Her throat was dry and strained. It came out hoarsely, she swallowed a few times to regulate her tone. “Seija,” She said again, in a much more Byakuren-y voice, “Sweetie, let me get you some ice for your nose.” Her tone wasn’t perfect, but at least it was something.

Seija slowed her pace. She seemed to be listening, but not quite willing to stop to accept any assistance.

Byakuren frowned and slowed as well. She put her hand lightly on Seija’s shoulder blade.

Seija tensed and froze.

Byakuren reacted quickly and stopped as well so she wouldn’t push her over.

“...I know how hard Nue’s right hook is.” Byakuren said with an ungenuine smile. “Some ice will help, ok?” She said. She slightly lifted the pressure of her hand on Seija’s back.

Seija hesitated for a long moment.

Byakuren became aware of how quickly Seija was breathing. Her hand was raising and falling with Seija’s shallow breaths.

She frowned.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Seija nodded.

Byakuren reapplied a little more pressure on Seija’s back.

Her smile became a little bit truer.

“Good.” She said before she led Seija along the short trip into the dining room.

Seija had a seat at the end of the table as Byakuren moved into the kitchen to retrieve some ice for her.

Byakuren took a mug out of one of the cabinets and filled it to it’s brim with ice cubes. She also retrieved two hand towels. One she wet under the faucet, one she kept dry.

She made her way back out to find Seija where she had left her.

Byakuren knelt down beside her and slid the cup onto the table.

Seija eyed it.

After a few moments, Seija removed the bloodstained handkerchief from her nose.

It was difficult to tell whether or not her nose was still bleeding.

Her lips and chin were painted various shades of scarlet as the fresh and drying blood mixed on her skin.

Several fat droplets dripped off her chin down onto her lavender top.

Her eyes followed them as they stained the light fabric.

This seemed to distract her, as she kept her eyes low.

Byakuren frowned and moved the wet towel over to her face slowly.

Seija was startled as Byakuren’s hand came into view. She flinched back.

Byakuren frowned and pulled her hand back.

“It’s all down your face, my child.” Byakuren said as she ever so slowly brought the towel over again.

This time, Seija didn’t move, though her eyes followed Byakuren’s hand very cautiously.

Byakuren brought her other hand up to cup Seija’s cheek to hold her face steady as she began to wipe at her chin.

The blood slowly started coming off, but it was replaced within seconds as more and more blood dripped down onto Seija’s dark freshly cleaned chin.

Byakuren frowned and tore off a small 1 inch by 3 inch strip of the dry towel.

Seija continued to eye her suspiciously.

“Put this under your upper lip.” Byakuren said as she rolled it up a little and extended it towards her.

Seija narrowed her eyes at it.

“It’ll stop the bleeding.” Byakuren said with a soft smile. “Believe me, I’ve dealt with enough nosebleeds to have a few tricks up my sleeve.” She said.

Seija blinked and took the strip from her. She did as she was told and put it under her upper lip.

Byakuren waited a few moments before cupping Seija’s cheek again, and moving in once more with the wet towel.

She wiped Seija’s chin, this time it stayed clean.

Byakuren lightly wiped her mouth, then moved up carefully to her upper lip. It was stuck out slightly with the towel being under it. She delicately dabbed at it, as to not risk nudging Seija’s sore swollen nose again.

It took a bit of work, but eventually Seija was cleaned up.

Byakuren placed the dirty wet towel off to the side as she wrapped a bit of ice in the dry one. She offered it to Seija.

Seija accepted it and lightly pressed it against the bridge of her nose.

Byakuren smiled.

“Feeling a bit better?” She asked softly.

“Just peachy.” Seija mumbled.

Byakuren’s smile shrunk a bit, but her eyes smiled more.

“Poor child…”

Seija rolled her eyes and turned away.

Seija propped her elbows up on the table and pressed her face into her hands, whilst taking special care to keep the wad of towel and ice on the bridge of her nose.

Byakuren let out a little sigh.

“Seija…”

“What do you want?” Seija huffed. She ran her tongue up under her upper lip and spat out the bit of towel onto the table.

Byakuren swallowed and scooted a bit closer.

“You really did trip up the Taoist’s… didn’t you?”

Seija glanced over at her.

Seija’s eyes were sharp, but heavy lidded and tired.

Byakuren frowned.

“My dear child,” Byakuren began, “Please tell me.”

Seija grumbled and rolled her eyes.

“Course I didn’t do it.” She sighed. “I’m only the only person who not only has the ability to turn them on their heads, but also was in the vicinity to do just that.” She rolled her eyes again, “And of course, everyone, just everyone, has my exact motives to do just that. Geez, don’t go around pointing fingers, monk.” She slouched a bit.

Byakuren frowned and sighed.

“Why don’t we take this into my chambers?” She asked. “I’m not sure when the others will be home, and I would like to speak with you about this…”

“Oh, gonna scold me, monk?” Seija asked. Her lips twisted into a smirk, but her eyes stayed flat.

“I think that perhaps I must…” Byakuren said as she straightened up.

Seija looked a little startled by this.

“Really?”

“Well, more of a bit of a lecture going over what you have don-”

Seija’s cackle cut Byakuren off. Seija slapped the table as her cold laughter filled the room.

Byakuren frowned.

“The sooner we do this, the better.”

Seija stopped laughing. She looked over at Byakuren, her smile had fallen.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“I am.” Byakuren said as she slowly got to her feet.

Seija got up along with her, looking surprised as if her body had acted before she thought the action through.

Byakuren offered her a warm smile and put her hand on her arm.

“Right this way.” Byakuren said as she turned to leave.

Seija followed her, her face stayed glued in a stunned expression.

Byakuren led her down the back hallway to her chambers.

She stopped when she got to the door and opened it for Seija.

Seija reluctantly stepped forward into the room.

Byakuren followed in after her and shut the door behind her.

Seija stood stiffly just inside. She looked out into the small room. Her free hand was curled into a tight fist.

Byakuren offered her a pat on the shoulder before moving in to have a seat.

She motioned for Seija to take the seat across the table in front of her.

Seija did this, she looked confused by her own actions.

Byakuren gave her a small smile.

Seija did not smile back.

Byakuren moved her eyes over to the towel filled with ice that was still in her hand. Her smile fell a bit.

“Seija, dear child, is your nose feeling any better?” She asked.

Seija didn’t respond. Her expression stayed the same, but she brought her eyes down low. She stared at the wooden surface of the table.

“If you’re not feeling well, we can hold this off till morning.” Byakuren said.

Seija shook her head silently.

Byakuren frowned and nodded. She straightened herself up.

“Well, right… So, shall we begin?”

Seija didn’t respond. She kept her eyes low.

Byakuren saw Seija’s fingers grip into the wad of ice. Her fingers pressed in against the towel. The ice inside slid against each other noisily.

“Dear child, now, I understand that you are not under my teachings,” Byakuren began slowly, “But, the way you behaved tonight has affected us all, you surely know this…”

Seija kept her eyes low. Her heavy lids drooped a bit.

“I’ll have you know that this is a very serious situation… One that I will not take lightly just because you do not follow my word… I would treat this with equal seriousness if it were Nue or Murasa or anyone…”

Seija’s breathing had slowed a bit.

Byakuren vaguely wondered if she was putting her to sleep already.

“I’m not sure if this action was out of mischievousness or was bad hearted, but either way it has negatively effected the name of this temple. We are supposed to uphold honesty and goodness, and cheating will not be tolerated.”

“...Why do you care?” Seija asked quietly.

Byakuren frowned. She tilted her head.

“Hm?”

“The temple isn’t even in your name or anything.” Seija murmured. “It’s not the Hijiri Temple or something like that.”

Byakuren shifted a little in her seat.

“No, it is not the Hijiri Temple… Tell me Seija, do you know why the Myouren Temple is called the Myouren Temple?”

Seija shook her head. She glanced up at Byakuren curiously.

“So people would get confused and think it was the Moriya Shrine and come visit here instead?” Seija shrugged.

Byakuren gave her a small shallow smile. “It is named after my late brother, Myouren.”

Seija’s brows knitted together.

“So, yes, the Myouren Temple’s name does mean a great deal to me.” She said with a nod. “And even if it did not share the same name as someone who is beloved to me, I would still hold the name dearly to me as this is the temple I have dedicated my life to.”

Seija remained silent at this.

“Do you understand what I am saying, dear child? I will not continue unless you do.” Byakuren said.

“Loud and clear.” Seija rolled her eyes.

Byakuren frowned.

“My dear child, I love you, but I will not tolerate actions similar to what you have done tonight, is that clear?”

“Crystal.” Seija rolled her eyes again and waved it off.

“And,” Byakuren began slowly.

“And?” Seija eyed her.

“And, that is why I would like you to come with me to apologize to the Taoist’s tomorrow.”

“What?!” Seija spat. “Are you joking?”

“I am not.” Byakuren said with a nod. “This is very serious. I want to atone for this. I believe apologizing will be the first step.”

Seija groaned and slammed the wad of ice on the table. By now, it had melted quite a bit. A small puddle began forming where it sat.

“Monk, you’re killing me.” She huffed.

Byakuren frowned.

“I will be right there with you.” She said. “I won’t let them bring any harm to you.”

“Oh, yeah.” Seija leaned closer. “Right, just like what you did in the past? Just making deals like that with the Taoist’s behind my back. Like I’m some chip you can bet on, huh? And you’re spewin’ this honesty shit at my face when you’re keeping things like that from me!”

Byakuren frowned and hung her head.

“I did not mean to keep that from you… I just felt like it perhaps didn’t need to be discussed…”

“Using favors to pardon _my life_ isn’t something that doesn’t need to be discussed?” Seija ground her teeth.

Byakuren frowned.

“I was wrong.”

“No?! Really!?” Seija clenched her fists.

Byakuren looked up at her.

“I believed that discussing something like this earlier on… well, would make you not want to stay with us or something…”

“And here you are preaching to me about honesty when you’re keeping shit from me? What else is there, huh? Are you planning on fattening me up and selling my skins on the black market or something? Huh, monk?” Seija’s voice began rising.

Byakuren frowned and shook her head.

“Never…”

“Oh, of course not. I forgot, you’re just a filthy hypocrite who won’t admit to anything unless she’s been caught!” Seija slammed her fist on the table.

Byakuren flinched.

“I am sorry.” Byakuren gave a low bow.

Seija went quiet.

Byakuren had to look up to make sure she hadn’t left.

Seija was still sitting there, arms folded and glaring down at Byakuren.

Byakuren frowned and slowly lifted her head back up.

“I was just trying to keep you safe… Please forgive me.”

“Fuck you.” Seija huffed.

Byakuren sighed.

“Well, while we’re on this topic… I had a discussion with Reimu as well…”

Seija dug her clawlike fingernails into the wood of the table.

“She wanted to know where you were… this was before you started sleeping in the temple… I refused to tell her. After a bit of talking, she agreed to give up her pursuit of you so long as I agreed to take responsibility for your actions.” Byakuren said.

“So there was more, huh?” Seija’s nails dug claw marks through the wood.

Byakuren nodded.

“That’s it… Again, I was trying to keep you safe. I should have told you about this sooner. I hope you can forgive me.” Byakuren said as she lowered her head in another bow.

Seija sighed.

After a few moments, Byakuren sat up straight again.

She met gazes with Seija.

Seija was gnawing on the inside of her lip.

“I understand you are upset with me…”

“Nah,” Seija waved it off, her glare intensified, “I could blow you a kiss right now.”

Byakuren sighed.

“I apologize.”

“Screw off.”

Byakuren straightened herself up as she sighed again.

A few long moments passed.

The air became tense and silent, only filled with the light sounds of their breathing.

The ice slowly melted onto the table.

Finally, after a few long moments Seija sighed.

This sudden noise made Byakuren flinch.

Seija raised her eyebrows at this.

“Acting jumpy and guilty, eh?”

“That just startled me.” Byakuren sighed as she placed a hand on her chest.

Seija leaned back a little to relax.

Byakuren moved her eyes off Seija to glance around the room.

“You know…” She said as she brought her eyes back over to Seija. “I came here to lecture you… and here you are lecturing me. You really do have a talent for reversing things like that…”

Seija actually smiled at that. Just for a second, her lips stretched a bit, then she forced them back down into a grimace.

“I apologize again, Seija.” Byakuren lowered her head. “Can you forgive me?”

Seija was silent for a long moment before she sighed.

“Never.” Seija shrugged and waved it off nonchalantly before settling comfortably into her seat. Her face had relaxed a great deal. She looked at something under her nail.

Byakuren smiled lightly.

“What’re you smiling at?” Seija asked, though all the ice in her voice had melted.

Byakuren’s smile grew more.

“You’re very kind.” She bowed again, this time it was just a shallow one. “I am blessed that you extend your patience and understanding towards me. Thank you, my sweet child.”

“You’re delusional, momk.” Seija started picking at her nail.

Byakuren blinked.

“Hm?”

“What?” Seija glanced up.

“What did you call me?”

“Monk?” Seija narrowed her eyes.

Byakuren blinked.

“Oh, ok. My mistake…”

“Yeah, it was.” Seija rolled her eyes.

Byakuren chuckled.

Seija sighed.

“What’s so funny, huh?” Seija frowned.

“You’re silly.” Byakuren beamed.

“Well, you’re stupid.” Seija said.

“Ah,” Byakuren continued to smile, she folded her hands on the table.

“What’s that supposed to mean, monk?”

“Just… ‘that’ I guess.” Byakuren giggled.

Seija smiled despite her efforts to not.

The room fell into a comfortable silence, this one much more pleasant than the previous.

Byakuren glanced down at the puddle the melting ice had created.

She moved her eyes back up at Seija.

“How’s your nose feeling?”

“I feel like I just won some multimillion jackpot and got kissed by the prettiest girl in the world.” Seija said as she grimaced and touched the bridge of her nose.

Byakuren frowned.

“Dear, I’m sorry… Hopefully it will feel better by tomorrow.”

Seija sighed and picked up the dripping wad of ice and pressed it against her nose.

A thin heavy flowing stream of ice cold water ran down her cheek. She shivered.

Byakuren watched her as the color in Seija’s face drained a little from the cold.

“How about I get you a blanket, hm?” Byakuren suggested.

Seija glanced up at her. The stream flowing down her face curved around her chin and dribbled down onto her top. The light lavender darkened as it soaked up the water.

Seija slowly moved the towel of ice off her face, and set it back down on the table where it had previously sat.

“Knock yourself out.” She shrugged and averted her gaze.

Byakuren smiled and slowly got to her feet.

She moved over to the doorway that led into her bedroom, and slid the door open.

She moved inside and began digging through the stout oak chest box in the corner for a blanket.

As she did this, she heard Seija stand up in the other room.

She glanced over out the door to check to see if Seija had left, but saw Seija was standing in the doorway peering in at her.

“Need something?” Byakuren asked.

Seija shook her head and glanced around the room.

Byakuren followed her eyes.

“Oh, you’ve never seen this room, have you?”

“It’s just like I imagined.” Seija smirked. “A real dump. I take it this is where that raccoon woman scavenges when she feels the urge to roll around in some garbage, eh?” Seija leaned against the doorframe.

Byakuren chuckled and looked around the room.

She tried to keep it clean. Aside from the emptied tea cup next to her futon, nothing really seemed all that terrible in her opinion.

Before she could think of how to reply to this, Seija stepped forward into the room. This caught her off guard a little. Byakuren watched her silently as Seija moved over to the center of the room.

“Smells like the dump in here.” Seija said as she put her hands on her hips.

“I’ll purchase more incense sticks while I’m in town next.” Byakuren chuckled as she turned back to the chest box.

She leaned over a bit and dug her arm deeper inside. Her fingers brushed up against a soft cotton. She tugged it up to see that it was one of the quilts she had made some time back.

She straightened herself out and flapped out the quilt to examine it.

It had simple patchwork done. Half the squares were made out of a faded white floral cotton, the other half were a solid purple.

She turned to face Seija with a smile.

Seija had moved over to the far wall, and had her back to her.

Byakuren made her way over to her side.

“This one is warm enough, I think.” Byakuren said with a small smile.

Seija didn’t look back at her, but tilted her head a bit.

Byakuren looked over at what she was looking at.

Seija had her eyes on a thin wooden shelf case. The case was dotted with miscellaneous objects, books, and the occasional scroll, but predominantly it was filled with a dozen or so framed photographs of the temple’s residents that had been taken over the recent years.

The one Seija had her eyes on was a grainy photograph of Byakuren and the rest of the temple, save her own self, standing on the front steps grinning forward at the camera. It had been the first photograph ever taken with Mamizou being a part of the temple.

Mamizou stood in the back row, giving the camera a very toothy grin. Her nose was scrunched up and her eyes were closed. She had her elbow propped up on Byakuren’s shoulder and was leaning lightly against her.

Byakuren smiled down at it, and ran her thumb over the top of the picture frame. It had a thin layer of dust on it that was rubbed off onto her skin.

She glanced over at Seija silently.

Seija still had her eyes forward.

“You know,” Byakuren began, “We really need to get this retaken.” Byakuren said with a small smile.

Seija didn’t respond.

“I don’t like the idea of a family member being missing from a family portrait.” Byakuren said.

“...You’re making a dumb face in this one.” Seija said as she pointed towards the photograph next to the family portrait.

This other one was of Byakuren and Nue. Nue was crouching over as she held onto a burning sparkler. Byakuren was crouched next to her, her eyes were closed and her brow were knitted together with worry although she was smiling.

“Ah, I remember taking that one.” Byakuren said with a chuckle. “Nue had been chasing Murasa all night with sparklers and roman candles…”

Seija cackled at this. She pushed the photo aside to look at the one beside it.

This next one was a simple photograph of Kyouko grinning ear to ear and waving. Her ears and bangs were tied up over her head with a thin white bow. she had a small square slice of watermelon in her hand.

Byakuren smiled.

“That one was taken two summers ago. It was so hot… Kyouko spent quite a few days looking like that.” Byakuren said as she lifted the photo and ran her thumb over the side of Kyouko’s cheek.

“She looks stupid.” Seija snorted and leaned over to still get a good look at it as Byakuren held it in her hand.

Byakuren smiled silently for a few moments as she looked down at Kyouko in the frame.

“You know,” Byakuren began as she took her eyes off the photo and glanced over at Seija, “She really likes you.” Byakuren said.

“No? Really?” Seija chuckled lightly. “I couldn’t tell by how much she tugged on me.” Seija said as she took her eyes off of the picture.

“She’s never really done that to anyone, either.” Byakuren grinned, “So she must think very very highly of you.” Byakuren said as she placed the frame back down on the shelf. “You’re very patient with her. I thank you for that.” Byakuren said.

Seija scratched at her cheek but didn’t respond more than that.

Byakuren took a step back and lifted the quilt onto Seija’s shoulders.

Seija glanced over her shoulder at Byakuren curiously.

“Made this one myself.” Byakuren said as she lightly smoothed out a wrinkle that was located on Seija’s back.

Seija tugged the quilt on tighter, and took a bit of it in her hand as she moved it in front of her face to examine it.

She squinted at it and shrugged.

“The stitchwork is all wrong.” Seija said absently, “I’m surprised it lasted this long without falling apart.”

Byakuren chuckled and shook her head before moving over to have a seat on one of the cushions nearby. She patted the one beside her for Seija to join her.

Seija turned to watch her as she did this. She made a small face.

“Come sit with me, dear child.” Byakuren said as she patted the seat beside her again.

Seija sighed and stepped over to sit down next to her.

“What do you want?” Seija asked as she tugged the quilt around her closed.

Byakuren smiled warmly and folded her hands in her lap.

“I was going to ask you, if you would like to wait till it’s warm outside to take a family photo, or would you prefer to do it sooner and shoot it inside?”

Seija blinked boredly at Byakuren’s words. She shrugged and pulled the quilt tighter around her.

“No preference?” Byakuren asked.

“Why would I care?”

Byakuren smiled and glanced over at the shelves of photos.

“Well, I suppose if we wait till spring we’ll have some time to acquire a camera… The one we had broke some time ago… I imagine I’ll have to stop by Rinnosuke’s shop, or maybe even head to the kappa village to get one… Sometimes they can be so hard to find…”

Seija simply yawned at this.

“But anyway, until then… Well, I’m sure Kyouko will draw you quite a bit with the colored pencils I bought her for her New Year's gift… Oh, oh, I would appreciate it if you don’t mention that to her… It’s a surprise.”

Seija chuckled and leaned forwards.

“Won’t dream of spoiling anything.” She said with a toothy grin.

Byakuren sighed. “Please do not… I really want to keep all the gifts a surprise, ok?”

Seija blinked. “Oh? There’s more than one gift then? How many things is that dog getting?”

Byakuren smiled a bit and placed a finger to her lips.

“They’re not all for her.” She gave Seija a small wink, “I even have one for you, you know. But, no, don’t try to get me to tell you what it is, because I won’t.”

Seija’s eyes went wide, she brought her eyebrows down.

“Wait, really?”

“Of course.” Byakuren nodded.

“Oh.” Seija blinked.

Byakuren let out a light laugh.

“Well, in any case… Once she draws one of you, I’ll frame it and place it up with the rest of the photos until we have an actual photo of you. That will at least make it feel a bit more complete…” Byakuren said with a small nod.

Seija only lowered her gaze. The quilt around her shoulders slid off just a bit. She tugged it closer again. She stayed silent.

Byakuren smiled back.

“Does that sound ok?”

“Huh?” Seija glanced up at her, “Oh, just do whatever you want. I don’t care.” Seija said distractedly.

Byakuren gave a small sage nod.

“Right. Then that will be the course of action I will take for now…” She said. “Oh,” She blinked over at Seija, “Unless you want to draw me a self portrait.” She smiled.

Seija rolled her eyes. “You think I’d be in this hell hole if my artistic ability sold well enough to put food in my mouth?” She said as she leaned back.

Byakuren chuckled. “I’m not much of an artist myself either… Well, I took a painting class back in the day, but I don’t remember a lot about it… I know a bit of calligraphy, but that and painting are two completely separate things, don’t you agree?”

“Do you ever just shut up?” Seija sighed.

“Sorry.” Byakuren smiled back.

Seija only grumbled to herself.

“Seija,”

“What?” Seija closed her eyes aggravatedly.

“...You know I still would like you to come with me to apologize to the Taoist’s tomorrow…”

Seija opened her eyes and shot a glare over at Byakuren.

“Please,” Byakuren said, “This is something that needs to happen. Will you do this for me?”

“Why don’t you do _me_ a favor and go screw off?” Seija mumbled as she got to her feet.

Byakuren frowned and stood up with her.

Seija made her way over towards the door and exited the bedroom with Byakuren in tow.

“Seija…” Byakuren sighed.

“Just-” Seija stopped as she had her hand on the doorway that led out into the hall. She kept her back towards Byakuren, she still had the quilt wrapped around her shoulders. “Just wait for the sun to come up before you wake me to leave…” Seija said quickly before she opened the door, stepped through it, and slammed it behind her.

Byakuren stayed where she was, blinking at where Seija had just stood.

 

* * *

 

The following morning passed awkwardly.

For the first time, Seija did not come to breakfast.

Seija never spoke up during any meals, but her absence did not go unnoticed nonetheless.

Things were slightly tense, though it seemed no one was really willing to talk about neither last night nor Seija.

Breakfast passed quietly, after the dishes had been put away. Byakuren excused herself.

She headed down the hallway that led to the laundry room.

She found herself standing at Seija’s door. Before she knew it, her knuckles were hovering above the wood of the door, unmoving.

She took in a deep breath, and willed herself to knock.

A few moments later she heard Seija moving around from inside.

Seija opened the door looking as if she had been up all morning.

She was dressed in a navy jumper hoodie, and a pair of black pants. She had one hand in her pocket, the other hand was still on the door. She glanced up at Byakuren through her lashes. She was blushing a little.

Byakuren gave her a small reassuring smile.

“Morning.”

“Hey.” Seija sighed through her nose.

“We missed you at breakfast.” Byakuren said. “Are you feeling unwell?” She asked as she brought her eyes over to Seija’s nose.

Seija’s nose had definitely healed a great deal since yesterday. Now, it was only a sick fading yellow, and seemed to be a little swollen.

“I’m peachy.” Seija rolled her eyes. “Let’s just get this over with.” She said as she pushed passed Byakuren and closed the door behind her.

Byakuren gave her shoulder a small squeeze.

“No need to worry,” Byakuren said, “I’ll be with you the entire time, ok?”

“Great, just what I need.” Seija said boredly before moving forward down the hall.

They made their way through the temple, and exited out the front door.

Byakuren became vaguely aware that this was only the second time she had seen Seija use the front door, and that last night had been the very first. She wondered if this would become a habit of hers.

It was a bitter morning outside. The wind was still, but the air was frigid.

The sky was a light grey overcast as a blanket of thin clouds stretched across the entirety of the sky.

From the not too distant trees, bird song carried over. It was made up of quiet faint chirping, as the louder more lively birds of the warmer months had all disappeared by now.

Byakuren and Seija made their way down the front steps.

The grey stone stairway were the same color of the clouds overhead, the orange shawl of the jizou statue seemed to be the earthbound sun shining through the dullness of the graphite colored steps.

They passed the statue up as they continued on downward towards the road, then moved along it in the direction of the mausoleum.

On warmer days, it would have been simple enough to just take to the air and fly over to the underground tunnel, but the cutting chilled air had no mercy for anyone, and the little heat that the earth held onto was lost with elevation.

And so they made their way forward on foot.

Seija had her hands tucked into her pockets, her chin was nuzzled into the collar of her shirt as she tried to cling onto the warmth her clothes provided.

Byakuren rubbed her hands together attempting to warm them up, not quite willing to give up the feeling in her fingers so soon.

The trek over to the underground tunnel passed quietly.

It seemed Seija was in no real mood to talk, and Byakuren didn’t want to press her more than she needed to, especially this early in the morning when Seija had a history of being a terrible morning person.

After a very long silent walk, the underground tunnel became visible just up ahead.

Byakuren saw Seija tense up quite a bit.

She glanced over at her, but Seija kept her gaze fixed straight ahead.

Byakuren frowned.

“I’m right here with you, ok?” She said quietly. So quietly, she wasn’t sure if Seija actually heard her.

Seija didn’t respond, but she wasn’t entirely sure if Seija would have responded even if she had heard her.

They made their way down into the tunnel.

It provided some much needed insulation from the cold.

It was dark, they slowed as they allowed their eyes to adjust to the lack of light.

Byakuren kept her ears open for any noise of an approaching jiang shi, but did not hear anything.

They continued on downward, and before long the Mausoleum came into view.

The Mausoleum was in considerable better condition than the last time Byakuren had seen it.

The large chunk of ceiling that had fallen down onto the roof had been removed. As well, most of the major repairs to the structure had been either started or completed. There were still sizable cracks in the now standing pillars, but some had been patched up as well as was possible. The enormous pile of rocks that had once been beside the Mausoleum had been turned into an impressive stone wall around most of the Mausoleum. The large boulders had been cut down into odd shapes of stone that fit together quite nicely and added a somewhat charming effect to the cute wall.

Byakuren smiled at it.

Seija did not respond to it.

“They seem to be doing well…” Byakuren said quietly.

Unsurprisingly, Seija still did not respond to this.

They made their way over to the front door.

The previously destroyed door had been replaced by a very expensive looking jade door.

Byakuren held her breath as she looked onto it.

Seija did not seem willing to be the one to knock, so Byakuren took it upon herself.

She did just that. She knocked her knuckles against the jade door.

They ached at the hardness of it.

There was a bit of movement from inside. Then, after a few moments, it swung open.

Tojiko stood in the door. Her face fell when she caught sight of Byakuren and Seija.

She sighed through her nose and leaned up against the doorframe.

“What do you want?” She asked, giving Seija a very pointed glare.

Seija glared back at her, but surprisingly it was a very weak glare for Seija standards. It barely even looked like much of a glare at all, it almost just looked like she was suffering from indigestion.

Byakuren wrung her hands together. She opened her mouth to break the silence that had fallen, but she could not think of how to begin. Her lips stayed parted as she wrung her hands together a little more quickly.

The silence became tenser by the second.

This tenseness fogged her thoughts, she tried and failed to piece together a string of words.

“Well?” Tojiko’s voice cut at her. It was harsh. Her translucent legs flickered a bit.

“Um…” Byakuren frowned.

Tojiko took her glare off of Seija to glare up at Byakuren.

“We came here to… ” Byakuren glanced over at Seija. “Offer up our apologies…”

Seija felt her eyes on her and glanced up at Byakuren.

Her red eyes peeked up at Byakuren through her lashes. Her thick black eyebrows knitted together.

Seija glanced back over at Tojiko and let out a sigh that sounded quite a bit like a growl.

“Yep.” Seija said as she rolled her eyes very openly. She jammed her hands into her pockets and lowered her gaze down to the ground.

Tojiko blinked and raised her eyebrows but her eyes stayed disapproving and angry.

“Oh?” Tojiko crossed her arms and started drumming her fingers on her arm.

“Yes.” Byakuren said as she lightly put a hand on Seija’s shoulder. “Seija, why don’t you-”

“Hold on.” Tojiko cut off Byakuren. “CROWN PRINCE!” Tojiko turned her head and called back into the Mausoleum.

Byakuren swallowed hard.

Tojiko turned back towards the pair standing in front of her.

“If you’re gonna go begging for forgiveness, you’re gonna do it right.” Tojiko said.

There was a long moment of silence as Byakuren and Seija were left to absorb her words.

Footsteps from inside drew nearer and nearer as the seconds ticked by. Then, Miko appeared in the doorway.

Miko’s eyes, like Tojiko’s, fell when they landed on Byakuren and Seija.

“Oh,” Miko sighed, “What a surprise.”

“They’re here begging for our forgiveness.” Tojiko said as she glanced back over her shoulder at Miko.

Miko blinked at Seija.

“Huh… Well.” Miko shrugged and took a step beside Tojiko. “Go on with it then.”

Seija grinded her teeth and clenched her fists inside her pockets.

Byakuren glanced nervously down at her and swallowed.

“Well… Um…” Byakuren cleared her throat. “Seija, dear child… Do you have something to say to them?”

“Yeah, I got something to say to them.” Seija growled through her teeth.

Byakuren frowned and gave Seija’s shoulder a little squeeze.

Seija let out a long dramatic sigh.

“Fine.” Seija quickly and stiffly bent down a little more than a nod. Her hair swung with the motion. “Sorry.” She said so quickly it almost sounded like a cough.

Miko and Tojiko stared flatly back at her, both looking as if they didn’t exactly know how to react to this.

“Is that it?” Tojiko asked.

“That was kinda lame.” Miko said.

“Yeah.” Tojiko agreed.

Seija bit at the side of her inner lip as she glared at them.

“I. said. it.” Her voice came out thick and forced.

Byakuren frowned at this exchange. She blinked at Miko and Tojiko.

“We are terribly sorry for-” Byakuren began.

“No,” Miko frowned, “I want to hear her say it.”

Seija let out an aggravated sigh.

“Why do you always gotta cut her off when she speaks, huh?” Seija said loudly. Her eyes were glinting in the light that was pouring out from inside the Mausoleum. Her red irises burned in the light.

Miko’s lips parted.

Byakuren gaped and began wringing her hands together again.

“What?” Miko asked, a little breathlessly.

“You always cut her off. Just let her speak for once.” Seija said as she stood up straight.

Miko scowled. “This isn’t about that.”

“And people say you’re supposed to be able to listen in on a dozen conversations at once. You can’t even listen to one without butting your royal ass in to hear your own self speak.” Seija said.

Miko’s cheeks turned pink. Whether this was from embarrassment or anger, it was impossible to tell.

“And why do I have to listen to your words, huh? You don’t listen to her either, do you? I bet she told you to be good and stay on your best behavior at the festival, but you ended up making asses out of the entire Myouren Temple. That’s why you’re down here now.” Miko glared down at Seija.

Seija took a large step forward and puffed out her chest.

“Least I let her finish her sentences, I’m not afraid to hear them out. Least I’m not afraid to hear someone else’s opinions to know how to react. Least I don’t act like I’m smart because I make my thoughts seem like they’re the only ones that matter.” Seija took her fists out of her pockets and kept them firmly at her sides.

Miko leaned down a bit to get within inches of Seija’s face.

“Don’t you pretend like you genuinely take her words to heart. You’re just ripping apart the sentences as they come out of her lips to see how you can turn them around for your own gain. You’re just an amanojaku. An amanojaku with a very powerful friend. That cushy life has gotten to your head, and now you think you can speak to me like this. You’re a disrespectful little ant, Kijin. Stand down now, or I won’t take any pity on you. This is your only warning.” Miko said flatly.

Seija glared up into Miko’s eyes for a very long moment.

Byakuren realized she was holding her breath.

It seemed Seija was as well, her shoulders were tense and unmoving.

Then, Seija took in a deep snorting breath as she cocked her head to the side.

Byakuren, out of some supernatural instinct, put her hands firmly on Seija’s shoulders and yanked her back.

Seija stumbled back against her, her right foot slipped out from underneath her, and she fell backwards on an angle.

Byakuren hooked her hands under Seija’s arms, and steadied her so she wouldn’t fall to the ground.

In this long instant, Seija spat forward a very large gob of spit that had originally been targeted at Miko’s face.

As she fell backwards, turning and twisting uncomfortably, her trajectory was thrown off, and the spit splatted against the ground.

Miko and Tojiko stood gaping dumbfounded at Seija, as if they were not able  to believe what had just happened.

Seija, who had fallen back against Byakuren, stood back up straight, cheeks red.

Byakuren remained silent and wide eyed.

Nobody spoke.

Miko still hadn’t blinked.

Tojiko hadn’t either.

Still silence.

Byakuren’s chest ached from holding her breath for this long.

“Get the hell out of here.” Miko finally said with flared nostrils.

Tojiko straightened up from the doorway and scowled down at Seija.

Seija glared back up.

“I said **leave!** ” Miko said. Miko’s voice bounced off the cave walls.

Byakuren gave a very very low bow and put her hand on Seija’s shoulder.

She offered up a quick apology before leading Seija away from the door.

Seija glanced back over her shoulder at the Taoists.

They slammed the jade door shut.

 

* * *

 

The trek up to the surface was silent.

Byakuren kept her hands firmly on Seija’s shoulders in the event Seija decided to turn and bolt back to the Taoists’ front door to try to start a fight.

The sunlight blinded the pair as they reached the end of the tunnel.

The grey sky overhead hung down brightly onto them

Byakuren took a deep breath of cold fall air into her lungs and let it out with a sigh.

Seija noticed this and glanced over at her.

Seija’s expression was curious. It was something Byakuren had never seen on her face.

Seija’s eyes were soft and heavy lidded. Her brow was knitted together. She was frowning. Her dark hair hung down over a wrinkle that appeared in her forehead.

On anyone else, this expression would have safely been labeled “guilt” or “worry” but Seija was not anyone else. Seija was Seija.

Byakuren gave her a small forced smile and removed her hands from her shoulders.

“Well…” Byakuren said quietly. “That didn’t… exactly go as planned….”

“No, really?” Seija more of said rather than asked. She continued on forward in front of Byakuren, keeping her face straight forward so Byakuren could not read her expression.

Byakuren kept quiet at this.

She had never seen Seija like this, so she had no words in her arsenal of comforting phrases prepared for this situation.

So, she simply walked forward behind Seija.

The air was still. The clouds overhead stayed unmoving and unchanging. Their grey downiness blanketed the sky.

Byakuren pieced words together in her head that seemed the least likely to set Seija off.

“Maybe, with time, they’ll cool off…” She offered.

Seija only let out a huff at these words.

“Our religions have fought in the past…” Byakuren said slowly. “This is nothing new. Once the dust has settled, a decent conversation will be able to be held… I’m sure.”

“What? so you can force me to apologize to them again?” Seija said coldly.

“Well,” Byakuren frowned, “I think that that would be best… but definitely not now. They’re very heated.”

“Is your memory faulty, monk?” Seija sighed. “I was there with you. I got to see how _very heated_ they were.”

“I know…” Byakuren sighed.

Seija must have thought that silence was an adequate way to end this conversation, so that’s what she supplied, and plenty of it.

But, Byakuren, being Byakuren, felt the need to patch things up better than to just leave it off like this.

“Seija…” Was how she began.

“What?” Was how Seija responded.

“I’m sorry that they said those cruel things to you.” Byakuren continued, “I’m sorry… You were trying to defend me and Miko turned it into something like that… That was a cruel thing to do. And I’m sorry that that was most likely not the first time that someone has said cruel things about you just because of who you are. I’m sorry that that has most likely happened in the past.”

“You’re going to sit here and apologize for everyone who has ever been mean to me?” Seija actually chuckled, there was disbelief in her voice.

“I believe I am.” Byakuren said slowly.

Seija’s steps slowed a decent bit. So much so, that Byakuren almost bumped into her.

“Not everyone says those cruel things…” Seija said quietly.

Byakuren remained silent as she processed these words.

In this lull in the conversation, Seija sped up again to her normal pace.

The beat of silence in the conversation drew on much longer than anticipated, and eventually smothered it out entirely.

Up ahead, a figure came into view from a ways down the road.

This figure, first insignificant, gained in importance as the two parties drew closer together.

The once dot on the horizon began to take shape into a blob, then a silhouette, then a man.

Byakuren looked up ahead and saw that this man was Jirou, a farmer from in the village.

Jirou had moved into the human village three years ago. Ever since the very first day he had called that village his home, he attended Byakuren’s sermons regularly.

Jirou was middle aged, had never wed, and lived alone with his two saluki dogs, Jinjin and Kie.

He had a strong jaw with deep set wrinkles around his mouth and eyes. He practiced archery regularly, but was losing his sight so took to squinting which led to crows feet.

His dark black hair was tied up, like always, in a tight pony tail under his straw conical hat. His hat cast a dark curved shadow over his eyes and nose.

He kept his eyes on Byakuren as the two parties came closer together.

“Morning, Miss Hijiri.” Jirou said with a low bow.

Byakuren bowed back. “Hello, Jirou.” She said with a small smile.

Jirou smiled back, the creases around his lips deepened as his cheeks were pressed up.

Byakuren slowed to a stop, and motioned for Seija to do the same, which she begrudgingly did.

Jirou noticed this exchange.

His eyes glanced over Seija and moved to Byakuren.

“On a walk?” He said with a crooked false smile.

Byakuren smiled, but her eyes frowned.

“On our way back to the temple… We were paying the Taoists a visit.” Byakuren said.

Seija sighed and put her hands in her pockets.

Jirou noticed this and swallowed before he set his eyes very pointedly on Byakuren.

“The Taoists?” He asked, his voice wavered a bit.

“Yes.” Byakuren said with a small sigh.

“I saw what happened at the festival last night.” Jirou said slowly. He glanced back over at Seija.

Seija frowned flatly back at him.

“Yes.” Byakuren said again, this time more cautiously. “We were actually apologizing to them for… well, what happened…”

Jirou nodded and scratched at the side of his head.

His fingers were calloused from working in the fields.

“I saw that…” Jirou repeated himself. “I saw what happened at the festival last night.” He brought his gaze over to Seija.

Seija pressed her lips together in a thin line.

“You… said you went to go apologize, though?”

“Yes.” Byakuren nodded. “Well, admittedly, things won’t be patched up over night… But, well, there was at least the attempt.”

Seija shuffled uncomfortably.

Byakuren and Jirou both noticed this.

“So, you really were the one who did it, huh?” Jirou asked Seija. His tone changed completely from what it had been when he had talked to Byakuren. It came out accusatory and cold.

Byakuren frowned at this, she had never known Jirou to speak like that to anyone.

Seija just sighed and scratched at the side of her head.

Jirou stood where he was, expectantly, as she waited for a better response out of Seija than that.

It seemed Seija wasn’t willing to offer one up, so Byakuren took it upon herself to respond.

“Mistakes have been made.” Byakuren said.

Jirou looked up at her. His eyes had widened a bit, as if he hadn’t expected her to say this.

“Indeed they have,” Byakuren continued, “But the process of atoning from them has begun. We ask for your forgiveness.” Byakuren said with a bow.

Jirou watched her as she did this.

As Byakuren stood back up straight, Jirou moved his eyes back over to Seija.

Seija had taken to picking at something under her nail.

Jirou frowned, the creases in his eyes curved as his lids lowered a bit.

“Miss Hijiri…” Jirou pushed his shoulders back a bit as if he was struggling to grip onto the energy that would enable himself to continue on with where his sentence was heading.

Byakuren’s stomach twisted a bit.

“Recently, have you felt like you have been being manipulated?” Jirou finished his sentence at last.

Byakuren raised her eyebrows and put her hands together as she tried to process what he had just said. But, her hard work was to no avail, she couldn’t wrap her mind around his words.

“Excuse me?” Byakuren asked as she tilted her head.

Jirou glanced down at Seija and tilted his head back a bit.

“You are aware,” Jirou began, “That amanojaku’s have the ability to twist hearts around, correct?”

Byakuren frowned. She let out a little sigh.

“Mister Jirou, Seija is not manipulating my heart. I can assure you of this.” Byakuren said.

Jirou didn’t look satisfied at this.

Seija let out a chuckle of disbelief as she shook her head.

Jirou’s eyes darted over to her, but only stayed on her face for a fraction of a second before moving back over to Byakuren’s.

“I’m only worried about you, Miss Hijiri. You have a very soft heart. In the hands of someone like-”

“Ok, thanks, have a nice day.” Seija said quickly as she grabbed onto Byakuren’s arm very roughly and yanked her forward.

Seija’s nails dug through Byakuren’s sleeve as her surprisingly tight grasp tugged her forwards down the road.

Byakuren glanced back over her shoulder as she stumbled forward. She offered Jirou an apologetic look.

Jirou looked taken aback by Seija’s actions. He gaped at Byakuren as she was pulled further and further away from him.

“I’m sorry, Mister Jirou,” Byakuren called, Seija had tugged her forward quite a good distance, “I’ll speak to you later! Do not worry about me. Everything is right.”

Jirou did not look comforted at her words. He simply stared dumbfounded. His eyes seemed to look through her as his head swam with thoughts.

Byakuren gave him one last apologetic frown before turning back forward to follow Seija.

 

* * *

 

 

_AN: Hey, so, remember when I said that this story should be finished by the end of December? [  Dojima voice ] J-Just kidding_

_Whoops_

_Hey! But really, thanks for sticking through this long, I'm trying to keep this story flowing along at a comfortable pace so I can get everything I want squeezed into it_

_I know this chapter was a bit short, I indented to get to a part where the big something something would happen, but busy week with the holidays and all that. And I didn't just want to force things forward quickly and make it shitty just so it would happen in this part. Plus, the last part was super hecka long so dang that kinda sucked a bit of energy out of me, sorry. The thing FOR SURE is going to happen soon, I'm rebuckling myself down_

_Usual shout outs to Purvis, Chris, Aaron, Toad, Noe, Elly, and you [winks x2]_

 

 


	8. Part 8

It had been three days since Byakuren saw Jirou. She had almost forgotten entirely about Seija tugging her down the road farther and farther away from him.

Almost forgotten, but not quite.

On the third day since that event occurred she had held a sermon.

Jirou, as was usual, attended.

Seeing his leathered face sitting back in the third row made memories of that day flood back to her.

She had to push down a grimace at the thought of what had occurred with the Taoists on that day. It was a bit of an effort, but she had managed.

After the sermon, as the crowd stood and began thinning, she caught sight of Jirou standing a bit a ways away, looking very much like he wanted to say something to her.

She took a step towards him to meet him, but was cut off when  a family of four that had been seated in the front row moved between them, effectively cutting Jirou off from view.

She waited for this family to pass, as she looked for an opening to squeeze over, but stopped when she felt someone take her hand.

Byakuren glanced over, and saw that it was Kyouko who had laced her fingers around her own.

She blinked down at the small Yamabiko.

“What is it, my child?” Byakuren asked as she turned to face Kyouko.

Kyouko looked up at her and tugged her hand a bit.

“You need to come quick. Nue’s about to slug Seija in the nose again.” Kyouko said. Her loud voice carried over the crowd quite well. A few people glanced over at her.

Byakuren blushed and gave them polite smiles before she excused herself to follow Kyouko out of the room.

Kyouko tugged her down one of the main hallways, then turned in the direction of Nue’s room.

Their footsteps against the hard wooden floors carried through the halls.

Just up ahead, the sound of a distant argument carried over to them.

Byakuren picked up her pace, and hurried along beside Kyouko.

Kyouko tightened her grasp on Byakuren’s hand.

Byakuren returned the gesture.

“I don’t care!” Called a voice in the now nearby argument. “I’d rather die!” Byakuren recognized this one to be Nue’s.

“Go right on ahead then! Don’t let me stop you!” Called the other voice, this one undoubtedly belonged to Seija.

Byakuren and Kyouko rounded the last corner, and caught sight of the two dark haired girls.

Seija was standing, shoulders forward and wide, glaring into Nue’s face. One of her hands was balled into a tight fist at her side. The other was gripping very roughly into the rolled up futon she had tucked under her arm.

Seija’s mouth was twisted into a snarl, her sharp teeth were showing as she clenched her jaw tightly. Her eyes were sharp and narrowed. Her nostrils were flared.

Across from her, was Nue.

Nue had her legs and back completely straight and rigid. Her arms were stuck out at her sides as if she were trying to stop Seija from proceeding on any farther.

From where Byakuren was standing, she could not see Nue’s face to read her expression.

Byakuren moved slowly and cautiously forward over to the two girls sides.

Kyouko followed her. Kyouko had since let go of her hand, and now took to clinging at her side.

As Byakuren came to a stop perpendicular to them, she caught sight of Nue’s face.

Nue was giving Seija one of her trademarked dark looks. Her eyebrows were low and her lips were pressed thin. There was a crease in her forehead where her eyebrows came together. Her eyes were cold and piercing as she glared down at Seija.

Byakuren frowned and put her hands up.

“Now, now…” Byakuren began, “What’s happening here?” She asked.

Nue’s eyes glanced over at her.

Seija’s remained firmly on Nue’s face.

Neither of them answered.

“Well?” Byakuren asked as she lowered her hands. She brought one of them down on top of Kyouko’s head, and gave her a small reassuring pat.

“I am **not** becoming neighbors with this one.” Nue spat. She forced out each word through her tight lips.

Seija started grinding her teeth. She cocked her head to the side a little.

Byakuren blinked, confused.

“Please, let’s all relax.” Byakuren said slowly. “What exactly do you mean by that?”

“I won’t do it.” Nue growled.

“Why don’t you go and fu-” Seija began.

“Now,” Byakuren said over the last part of Seija’s sentence. “Please, let’s not be brash. We can talk this out.”

“As if she’d ever listen to reason.” Nue said.

Seija took a dangerous step forward into Nue’s face.

Byakuren tugged herself out of Kyouko’s grasp and stepped forward. She brought her arms between Seija and Nue and lightly pushed them apart.

“Girls, please.” Byakuren frowned.

“I **am** not sharing a hall with her. She’ll probably be really loud or something.”

“Oh, no,” Seija began in a very poor imitation of Nue’s voice, “Not my precious hall? What will I ever do? I need all the space I can get, my huge ego won’t fit anywhere else!”

Nue bent down to eye level with Seija.

Byakuren felt her put pressure on the arm that was holding her back as she tried to get forward. Byakuren had to push her back.

“Please, girls.” Byakuren frowned.

“Wanna say that again, Smallja?” Nue hissed.

“Did you just call me Smallja? Wow! You’re really as stupid as you look!” Seija leaned forward as well. Byakuren had to push her back as well.

“Least I don’t reek like you.” Nue spat. “I can smell you from all the way across the temple. If you polluted another room with your stench we’d have to call in hazmat.” Nue said through clenched teeth.

Byakuren blinked.

“Another room?” Byakuren piped up. She glanced down at the futon in Seija’s arm. A lightbulb went off in her head. “Oh! You’re moving into the room next to Nue’s?” Byakuren asked.

“No she is not!” Nue shouted.

“You don’t own the damn temple!” Seija shouted back.

“Neither do you!”

“That room was promised to me before I even moved in! It’s mine!”

“You’ve been staying in the damn laundry room for Hijiri knows how long! That’s your damn room now! You chose it!”

“I just had to mentally prepare myself from being so close to a shitbrain like you!”

“You’re the shitbrain!”

“Enough!” Byakuren called over the noise. “Enough.” She said again as silence filled the hall. “Please, girls.” She sighed. “You don’t need to be so mean to each other.”

“I hate her! I’m not putting up with this!” Nue huffed.

“Now.” Byakuren frowned at Nue. “None of those cruel words. Please, let Seija through. That room indeed has been promised to her.”

“You’re spoiling her! If I wanted to change rooms you wouldn’t let me!” Nue’s voice had softened a decent amount as she spoke to Byakuren.

“This room has always been hers. She just hasn’t been comfortable enough to move into it. And if you did want to change rooms, that’s your own choice, but you know as well as I do that the selection is limited. You would only be moving into a smaller room.” Byakuren frowned.

Nue groaned and sighed.

Byakuren noticed Nue was no longer pressing against her arm as she was trying to get at Seija. Byakuren decided to keep her arm there in the event Nue changed her mind.

“Mooommmmm…” Nue whined. She looked up at Byakuren, her cheeks had been dusted pink with a light blush. “Please no.”

Byakuren shook her head.

“I’m sorry it makes you unhappy. But you need to be accommodating for this family as you are a part of it yourself. Do you remember when you broke your window and Murasa let you stay in her room while it was repaired? She was understanding. I need you to be understanding like this. Let Seija through.”

Nue just groaned.

Seija chuckled lightly to herself.

Byakuren glanced over at her.

“And you,” Byakuren began. “You need to be understanding too. Nue is used to having the quiet of this hallway to herself. Please do not be overly loud, alright?”

Seija glared up at her silently in response.

Byakuren gave her a light smile.

“Alright?” She asked again.

Seija sighed and shook her head.

“Whatever floats your boat temple, monk.” Seija shrugged.

Nue’s eyes went wide at this as if she had not expected Seija to respond like that.

Byakuren moved her eyes back over to Nue.

“Will you let her through?” Byakuren asked slowly.

Nue sighed through her nose and scratched at the bottom of her chin roughly.

“...Fine.” Nue groaned and rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She turned on her heels and made her way very quickly down the hall to her door. She slammed it open, stepped in, then slammed it closed.

Byakuren watched her as she did this, and sighed a little.

“Well then.” Byakuren turned back to Seija. “You’re all free to move into your new room.” Byakuren beamed.

Seija blushed a little and adjusted the futon under her arm for a better grip.

“Kay.” Seija said with a small nod before she too moved down the hallway.

Seija made her way over towards the door nearby Nue’s and opened it.

She stood in it’s frame for a few seconds as she looked into it. Then, she glanced back over at Byakuren and Kyouko. Her blush darkened some more before she hurried inside and closed the door behind her.

Byakuren let out a sigh of relief and turned towards Kyouko.

“Well, you just stopped a war.” Kyouko said with a shrug.

Byakuren nodded weakly and glanced back down the hallway at the two doors.

“I just hope they don’t kill each other...” Byakuren said quietly.

“I guess they’re behaving like sisters already.” Kyouko smiled. “That’s how they’re supposed to act.”

“Really?” Byakuren asked unsurely.

“Yeah, yeah. They’re supposed to be at each other’s throats.” Kyouko nodded sagely. “Just makes the good moments all the better.”

Byakuren made her way over to Kyouko and pulled her into a hug.

“When did you get so smart?” Byakuren asked quietly as she gave Kyouko a little squeeze.

“Well, Seija’s technically the baby of the family now.” Kyouko nodded against Byakuren.

“Huh?” Byakuren blinked.

“She’s the newest member, so she’s the baby. I’m her older sister so I have to act all wise and helpful and stuff.” Kyouko smiled.

Byakuren chuckled and ruffled her hair.

“You’re doing a good job.”

“Really?” Kyouko’s eyes lit up.

“The best.” Byakuren bent down and placed a light kiss on Kyouko’s forehead.

Kyouko beamed and blushed.

Byakuren stood back up straight, and led Kyouko back down the hall they had come from.

 

* * *

 

Unfortunately, the still that came with Nue’s temporary acceptance of Seija becoming her neighbor didn’t last for long.

By the next day, they were at each other again.

This time, it had been Shou who had broken them apart.

Apparently, this argument had been about soap placement in the bathroom they now shared.

Shou, who’s room was relatively close to their shared hallway, had been awoken by the commotion of another one of Nue and Seija’s arguments.

She had successfully managed to split them apart, but, once again, this quiet did not last for very long.

Byakuren found herself outself polishing the bonsho bell with Nazrin, when shouting from within the temple indicated another fight had started.

Byakuren sighed and let her eyes fall shut.

She had a damp cloth in her hand that she had been using to polish the bell.

Her fingers dug lightly into it, squeezing out a few droplets of cool water. The water streamed down her fingers and dripped onto the ground. Her damp fingers were freezing in the cold.

They would have to finish with the bell soon, or suffer with the threat of the oncoming frost of evening.

Byakuren reopened her eyes and brushed some hair out of her face before she wrung out the rag into the bucket beside her.

One of Nazrin’s large velvety grey ears turned in the direction of the distant argument.

Nazrin too sighed.

“Just let them at it.” Nazrin said flatly as she wiped her rag around the base of the bell. The rag squeaked a little with this. Nazrin’s ears twitched at the noise.

Byakuren glanced around the enormous bonsho bell to get a better look at her.

Nazrin was crouched down low to get at the lower parts of the bell. She was dressed in a thick grey jacket that bunched up in her lap as her legs pushed it up. She was wearing a pair of faded black pants, and, despite Byakuren’s worried protests, only a pair of slippers on her feet. Her long tail was draped lazily on the ground behind her. A thin cloud of fog hung in front of her face as she breathed out. Her red eyes blinked up at Byakuren through her long bangs.

“Let them get it out of their systems.” Nazrin said. Her nose twitched.

“I’m not going to just let them fight…” Byakuren frowned.

“Why not?” Nazrin said as she brought her eyes back down to the bell in front of her.

“They need to learn to get along… That’s why.”

“They’re not gonna learn to get along if you keep butting in and getting in the way. They’re just gonna have to communicate.” Nazrin said with a shrug.

Byakuren frowned.

From somewhere inside, something shattered.

Byakuren tensed.

“I changed my mind.” Nazrin said. Her voice remained flat and emotionless. “Get in there before they kill themselves.”

Byakuren tossed her rag onto the side of the bucket beside her, and hurried into the temple without any further words encouragement from Nazrin.

The warmth of the temple made her cheeks sting.

She only realized now with the contrast how cold it was outside.

She rushed forward deeper into the temple, her boot heels clacking against the floorboards. She vaguely noticed that she hadn’t taken off her boots, but that would be something she would just have to deal with later.

She followed the noise of the argument, and found herself in the kitchen.

As she stepped inside, she very quickly realized Nue had summoned her trident.

Nue was gripping hard into it, her knuckles were white with the pressure. She was aiming it in the direction of Seija.

Seija, who was half the room across from her was frozen in her steps. She had a bag of shrimp chips in one hand. The other was brought up to her lips. Her cheeks were puffed out as if she had something in her mouth. For a fraction of a second, her eyes moved over, and landed on Byakuren. They gave her a pleading look, then landed back on Nue.

Byakuren sighed and slowly stepped between the two girls.

“Nue, don’t aim that thing at her. You know how I feel about you having it out in the temple.” Byakuren said as she eyed the trident in Nue’s hands nervously.

Nue gritted her teeth.

“I’ve had it.” Nue spat.

“Put it away.” Byakuren forced her voice to stay calm.

“I won’t.” Nue said as she tightened her grip on the trident's handle. “Those were mine.”

Byakuren slowly moved her eyes over to Seija.

Seija hadn’t moved an inch. She only glanced over at Byakuren.

Byakuren let her eyes fall on the bag of shrimp chips.

“Seija,” Byakuren began, “Are those Nue’s?”

Seija didn’t respond for a long moment as she considered how to react to this.

In the end, apparently she decided to make the situation as terrible as possible.

Seija noisily bit down into her mouthful of chips. They crunched loudly.

The pulse in Nue’s neck started throbbing. Her face turned completely red.

Seija offered Nue up a sly smirk as she reached into the bag, grabbed a handful of chips, and brought them slowly up. She opened her mouth as she brought the chips to her lips.

Byakuren didn’t have the chance to see if those chips ever managed to make it to her mouth.

In that instant, Nue lunged forward with a throaty roar. Her wings were flared out behind her. Her trident was brought forward. Her lips were twisted into a snarl.

Byakuren moved forward into her path, and brought her hand up to push away the trident’s three sharp ends as she held Nue back with her other hand.

Nue let out a yelp of surprise as Byakuren suddenly blocked her way. She pulled back and stumbled backwards.

Byakuren wrapped one arm around her waist to steady her from falling onto her back.

For a few seconds, Nue managed to regain her balance. She got her feet firmly planted on the ground, and started straightening back up.

But, the next second, an invisible force yanked both Nue and Byakuren’s feet out from beneath them.

They crashed down onto the hardwood floor with two loud _thuds_ and a _clank_ as Nue’s trident fell from her hand and skittered a few feet away from her.

“ **DAMMIT SEIJA!** ” Nue shouted as she tried to get up.

Byakuren had landed on top of her, and accidentally dug her elbow very painfully into her thin side.

Nue winced as she forced herself up, further jamming that elbow against her.

Byakuren frowned and offered up an apology that was unheard, as Nue opened her mouth and shouted, “GET BACK HERE,” right into Byakuren’s ear.

She pulled back, ear ringing, and was only vaguely aware of the sound of disappearing footsteps growing more distant down the hallway.

Nue pushed her off of her, and stumbled to her feet.

Nue hurried forward.

Byakuren glanced over her shoulder to see Nue disappear through the doorway behind her, evidently chasing after Seija.

With a weak groan, Byakuren too got to her feet and made her way in that direction.

She followed after them, but was quickly met with the blunt force of Nue’s back.

She crashed into her, and the two nearly tumbled to the ground again, but managed to steady themselves.

Just up ahead was Ichirin, looking very confused and startled.

Behind her, peeking out over her shoulder, was Seija.

Seija was giving Nue a very apprehensive look. Her fingers lightly dug into Ichirin’s upper arms.

Ichirin blinked, confused.

“What’s happening?” Ichirin asked as she glanced back at Seija.

Nue growled.

“Hiding behind the nun?” Nue spat. “Get out here you coward!”

Seija vehemently shook her head.

Byakuren frowned and placed her hand on Nue’s shoulders.

“Please, can you two stop fighting?” Byakuren asked breathlessly.

Nue shook her head.

“She ate my chips!”

“She tried to kill me!” Seija shouted back.

Ichirin cringed and rubbed her ear nearest to Seija’s face.

“I’m not gonna try anymore!” Nue balled her fists. “I’m gonna do it you squirt!”

Seija stuck out her tongue with a _nyeeeah_ and squeezed her eyes shut.

“Absolutely not.” Byakuren said a little more firmly. “This has gone far enough. Both of you stop. I want you each to apologize.”

“SHE STARTED IT!” Nue said as she pointed a finger in Seija’s direction.

“SHE AIMED THAT WEAPON AT ME!”

“Enough.” Byakuren said even more firmly.

Nue sighed. She recognized the slight quavering in Byakuren’s tone well enough to know she should back down now.

Nue reluctantly folded her arms and brought her eyes towards the ground.

Seija just stared at her cautiously.

“Sorry.” Nue huffed as she rolled her eyes.

Byakuren nodded, this seemed to be enough for her.

Then, Byakuren glanced over at Seija.

Seija blinked.

“Well?” She asked.

“What?” Seija frowned. She removed her hands from Ichirin’s shoulders.

“Apologize.” Byakuren said.

“No.” Seija said as she put her hands on her hips.

Ichirin glanced behind her and gave Seija a small worried look.

“Do it.” Ichirin whispered to her. “She’s going to get upset.”

“I don’t care.” Seija said back to Ichirin at her normal volume.

Ichirin pressed her lips together and quickly glanced over at Byakuren before looking back at Seija pleadingly.

“Please.” Ichirin whispered again. “You need to know when to back down.” Ichirin dropped her voice even lower, to an almost inaudible whisper, even to Seija who was standing just behind her. “She’ll start crying.” Ichirin glanced back over at Byakuren.

Byakuren frowned back.

Seija looked over at Byakuren. She kept her red eyes flatly on her for a few long seconds, then let out a sigh of defeat.

Seija brought her eyes over to Nue.

“Sorry.” She mumbled.

Byakuren gave her a light smile.

“See? Now, was that so hard?” Byakuren brought her hands together.

Nue and Seija both grumbled.

“Now.” Byakuren said as she straightened herself back up. “Nue, I want you to clean up whatever was broken.” She said.

Nue raised her eyebrows. Her eyes narrowed angrily.

“...Fine.” She said thickly.

Byakuren grinned wider.

“Thank you, my child.” Byakuren said before she turned back towards Seija. “And you, sweet child. I want you to come into town with me to purchase Nue a new bag of chips.”

“WHAT?!” Seija brought her hands down to her sides. Her eyes widened.

Nue snickered.

“You heard me. Nue will clean up this mess. You will replace what you have taken from her.”

Seija gritted her teeth together.

Ichirin glanced back at her and elbowed Seija in the side.

Seija directed her glare over at Ichirin.

Ichirin made a face and glanced over at Byakuren as if to say “ _Do it, the monk is gonna burst out into tears any moment_.” Or at least that’s what Seija probably interpreted it was.

Seija sighed and shook her head in disbelief.

“Fine. Whatever.” She said as she folded her arms.

“Thank you, my child.” Byakuren smiled.

Byakuren glanced back at Nue.

“We’ll be back.” Byakuren said before beckoning Seija forward, “Come this way, sweet child. We’ll want to be back before dark.”

 

* * *

 

 

Seija disappeared into the temple to collect her wallet.

Byakuren waited for her in the foyer.

She folded her hands in front of her, and twiddled with the strand of prayer beads in her palms.

The glossy teal surfaces of the beads shone in the grey light that poured in from the window on the wall.

They glinted up onto Byakuren’s face, but she did not notice this as she had looked up at the noise of someone entering the room.

Instead of it being Seija, as she expected it would be, it was Shou.

Shou was wearing a woolen grey hooded cape on her shoulders.

Byakuren recognized this cape. Shou only wore it when absolutely necessary, as it’s texture was scratchy and irritated her skin.

From where Byakuren was standing, she could see a small faint red splotch where the cape came in contact with Shou’s neck.

Beneath this cape, Shou had on a pair of navy pants and knee-high woolen white socks that she wore under her high boots.

Byakuren blinked.

“Going out?” She asked.

The glint of the prayer beads curved up around Byakuren’s cheek.

Shou nodded.

“Nue said you were going into town. Can I join you?” Shou asked.

Byakuren gave her a smile, and said, “Of course you can. Need something from the market?”

“Yeah, we’re all out of nutmeg and I wanted to make french toast for breakfast… I’ve had a taste for it for weeks.” Shou said as she made her way into the room.

Byakuren nodded and ran her thumb over one of the beads in her hand.

“I always appreciate your company, dear child.” Byakuren said.

Shou merely grinned back. Her fangs were visible for just a moment.

From somewhere nearby, the sound of approaching footsteps carried over, and effectively ended this conversation.

A few moments later, Seija appeared in the doorway wearing a very sullen look.

Byakuren cast her grin over to her when she saw her.

“Ready to go?” Byakuren asked.

Seija shrugged and held up her coin purse to silently say, _“Prepared as I’ll ever be._ ”

Byakuren nodded and beckoned her forward.

“Shou will be joining us.” Byakuren glanced out the window. The dreary sky overhead met her gaze. “It’s looking like it might not stay dry for very long. Why don’t you go grab a jacket, sweetie?” Byakuren asked.

Seija scoffed and waved this off.

“I won’t die.” She said.

Byakuren frowned, but nodded.

“Well, I won’t force you.”

And, with that, the trio exited the foyer and made their way out onto the front steps.

The cold air swirled around them.

From a near distance, next to the bonsho bell, Nazrin looked up from her work and glanced over at them.

Shou waved and gave her a grin.

Byakuren gave her a small bow.

“Are you holding up well?” Byakuren asked. “I need to run an errand in town, if you would like to wait until morning to finish up, I understand completely.”

Nazrin shook her head dismissively and waved it off.

Byakuren frowned and nodded.

“Well, I’ll try to hurry back to finish assisting you, alright?”

“Have fun.” Nazrin called back, boredly. “Oh, pick up some laundry soap while you’re out. We’re running low.”

Byakuren nodded.

“Will do!”

“Thanks.” Nazrin nodded before turning back to her work.

Byakuren offered her up a small bow before she turned to begin heading down the steps.

The jizou statue’s orange shawl had been tossed around in the swirling wind. The orange knitted garment had been flipped upside down, and hung onto the jizou statue’s head like the hood of a cape.

As Byakuren reached the landing on which the statue stood, she stopped to make her way over to it.

She brought her hands up and pulled the shawl back down to its usual position around the statue’s shoulders.

The shawl fluttered in the wind, but this gust didn’t seem to be strong enough to flip it into a hood again.

The gust, however, was strong enough to blow Byakuren’s hair into her face.

She sputtered as her hair flew into her mouth. She struggled to pull it away from her face, and tugged it back.

She glanced over at Shou and Seija with a frown.

Shou was waiting patiently for her to return to her side.

Seija’s eyes were dancing with the remnants of a smirk. Byakuren wondered if Seija had gotten some pleasure out of the jizou’s shawl being inverted like that.

“Do either of you have a ribbon that I can tie my hair up with?” Byakuren asked.

Shou frowned and shook her head.

Seija only scoffed.

“Want us to wait here while you go back in to grab one?” Shou asked.

Byakuren shook her head and moved back over towards the pair.

“That’s alright. It’s not that much of a hassle.” Byakuren said as she began descending the lower steps.

Shou and Seija followed behind her in tow.

The trip down to the village was quiet.

It seemed Shou had not entirely warmed up to Seija.

Usually, Shou was a very soft spoken person, but in Seija’s presence, she was even more so.

The entire way down, Shou only spoke when she was spoken to, and even during these times, her voice was somewhat unsure.

Seija, on the other hand, always seemed to be either screaming and shouting, or completely silent. It was an all or nothing thing. This time, it just seemed to be nothing.

Byakuren glanced over at the two as she made small talk about breakfast this morning.

Shou was at her side, struggling to keep a slow pace. Shou’s long legs, always made her pace quicker than she intended. She occasionally would wind up 10 feet ahead without meaning to. Today, she was keeping a very good pace as she willed her steps to be shorter for the other two to keep up.

Normally, Byakuren would be able to keep pace with her decently well, as she was a tall woman herself, but Seija’s short tiny legs didn’t allow for much speed.

Seija followed behind them, walking with wide strides, and holding onto her arms for warmth.

Byakuren glanced back at her and frowned.

Seija was only dressed in a thin black button down top that was opened to reveal an even thinner white shirt underneath with a pair of grey pants.

She glanced up at Byakuren as she felt her eyes on her, and quickly brought her arms back down to her sides.

Byakuren’s frown deepened.

“Cold?” She asked.

“No.” Seija huffed back.

Beside her, Shou frowned as well. She glanced back over her shoulder at Seija.

“Do you want to wear my cape?” Shou asked.

Seija shook her head.

“I don’t wanna smell like animal.” Seija said as she rolled her eyes.

Shou pouted.

Byakuren lightly patted her arm.

“You don’t smell like animal, sweetie. Don’t worry.”

“Yeah, thanks…” Shou said lightly. Her cheeks were turning a bit pink.

Byakuren glanced back over at Seija.

Seija seemed to have noticed Shou’s blush. Her red eyes were firmly set on Shou’s face.

Seija sighed and folded her arms.

“Geez, can’t you take a joke?” Seija said with a forced frost to her voice. “Just- It’ll be too big for me, ok?” She shrugged.

Shou glanced back at her, her lips were slightly stretched into a smile.

“It’ll just make it extra cozy.” Shou said quietly.

A small gust of wind blew some of Shou’s short hair out of her face.

Seija chuckled lightly, “I’ll think about it.”

“Just let me know if you get too cold.” Shou said. “I’m more than willing to share.”

“You’re spending too much time around that monk.” Seija said as she nodded in Byakuren’s direction.

Shou chuckled and tugged her cape on a little tighter.

“I think that’s a good thing.” Shou said.

Seija gave a very forced frown at these words, and said, “Says you.”

Shou just laughed at this.

Byakuren chuckled along.

Seija’s frown turned into a very uncomfortable smile as they laughed. Apparently she had not expected this.

Byakuren glanced back at her and gave her a silent thankful smile.

Seija blinked back at her, her uncomfortable smile had fallen to an uncomfortable frown.

Byakuren slowed her pace to walk beside Seija. She rested her hand lightly on Seija’s shoulder and gave her two small pats. One for _thank_ and one for _you_.

Seija’s face just became confused at this. Apparently she had not studied Byakuren’s form of Morse Code.

Byakuren did not see the need to clear up this confusion. Instead, she just remained silent as she made her way along.

Before long, the human village came into view.

It was quiet this time of day. The usual crowded streets were bare with the lack of people. Apparently no one was up for venturing out in this dull weather.

As they made their way down the first street, Byakuren glanced over at Seija.

“I believe I remember buying Nue those shrimp chips in the south end of the market.” Byakuren said.

“That’s good.” Shou said with a nod, “Because that shop that sells the laundry detergent is around there.”

“Oh, but I think that the seasonings are towards the west.” Byakuren said with a frown.

Shou shook her head and waved it off.

“I’ll head over there to go grab the nutmeg right now, and I’ll meet you up in the south end, ok?” Shou said as she picked up her pace a little.

Byakuren nodded.

“We’ll be looking for you.” Byakuren said as she put her hand on Seija’s shoulder and began leading her down the road to her left that would lead towards the south.

“See you then!” Shou called back as she continued on down the road she was on.

Byakuren led the way down the road as it curved down towards the market.

Seija followed silently as she chose to keep whatever complaints she had to herself.

Before long, they found themselves surrounded by the scents of miscellaneous foods wafting around them, which indicated the start of the marketplace.

Byakuren let out a delighted sigh as she caught a wiff of the warm gingery smell of the tea shop nearby.

“That smells lovely.” She said as she moved in further.

Seija only folded her arms in response.

“I’d offer to stop in for a cup, but Nazrin is waiting back at the temple after all.” Byakuren said distractedly as her eyes scanned across a long table displaying a wide variety of dried fruits and vegetables.

Seija kept quiet at this.

Byakuren took her eyes off of the table, and looked on up ahead.

“If I recall, the seller was a bit a ways this way.” Byakuren said as she picked up her pace a little. “Oh, and let me know if you see anything you want… Maybe if you find something you like for yourself you won’t be tempted to eat Nue’s food.”

“She’ll just eat mine then.” Seija scoffed dryly.

Byakuren quietly shook her head, and said, “Now, you don’t know that.”

“I do.” Seija said. “She’ll do it to spite me.”

“Then I’ll reprimand her.” Byakuren said.

“Yeah, right.”

“I will.” Byakuren nodded. “So, no worries.” She squinted up ahead. “Oh, that looks familiar.” She said as she hurried forward.

Seija followed behind her, though her shorter legs struggled to keep up, she managed.

Up ahead here, was a selection of outside world goods such as boxed instant mixes and cereals. On the colorful boxes, there were many foreign languages Byakuren herself could not recognize.

Standing behind a counter a little ways away was a thin elderly woman with white wispy hair and a wide toothless smile, the owner of this particular shop.

She waved over at Byakuren to catch her eye, and gave her a small welcoming bow.

“Afternoon, Miss Hijiri.” The woman said.

“Hello, Yu.” Byakuren said back to the woman.

Byakuren was never quite sure how Yu, being such a frail old woman, was able to come into possession of so many hard to find foreign goods, but she managed, and she managed very well.

Yu’s toothless smile only widened.

“Need any help?” Yu asked as she hobbled out from behind the counter and made her way over towards Byakuren.

Byakuren nodded, and glanced around the display again.

“I was here earlier this week, and purchased a bag of shrimp chips. Do you still have any bags left?” Byakuren asked.

Yu thought for a moment, her smile drooped a bit as her head filled with thoughts. She reached up and scratched at the side of her white-haired head.

“Shrimp chips?”

“Yes.” Byakuren said with a nod.

“What country were they from?” Yu asked.

“I believe, if I’m remembering correctly, the writing on the bag looked to be Korean.”

Yu’s eyes lit up.

“Oh! Saewookkang! Yeah, I got a bag or two left.” She nodded and turned to hobble a few feet away. “Want the spicy kind or no?” She asked as she bent down to begin rummaging through a barrel of bagged goods that was set up beside a large support beam that was holding the awning above up. Plastered on this large beam of wood was a sign with crude writing that said “ _Grab bag special!_ _Grab a bag of bags! Everything in your bag for 15 mon!_ ” And an arrow that pointed down to the barrel.

Byakuren glanced back at Seija.

“Do you recall them being spicy or not?”

Seija blinked and a sly smirk spread across her lips.

“The hottest. Ghost pepper flavored. I remember.” Her smirk widened.

Byakuren frowned.

“Are you just saying that?” She asked.

Seija shook her head and feigned a surprised look, “Why would I lie?”

Byakuren gave a disapproving frown down at Seija.

Seija blinked up at her, her feigned surprise became a bit more genuine.

“What?” Seija asked.

Yu let out a groan as she bent down a bit more to fish deeper into the pile of bags.

After a few moments she stood back up straight, clutched in her hands were two bags of the shrimp chips. One black, and one red.

Byakuren smiled.

“This one’s hot.” Yu said as she lifted the left bag. “This one’s not. So which one?”

Byakuren glanced down at Seija before responding.

“We’ll take both.”

“Great!” Yu said as she hobbled over to her counter again.

Byakuren followed.

Behind her, she heard Seija let out an aggravated sigh.

She looked back at her, confused.

“Something wrong?”

“You’re gonna make me pay for both of them?”

“Hm… how’s about this? How’s about you get to eat the one Nue doesn’t want?”

Seija’s eyes lit up a little. She nodded and pulled out her wallet.

They payed for the bag of chips. The entire process played through uneventfully.

Just as Yu handed Seija her change, Shou appeared, wearing a wide grin. Under her arm, she had a small bundle, apparently she had found the nutmeg just fine.

Byakuren watched as Seija accepted her change before turning to Shou.

“Now there’s just soap?” Byakuren asked.

Shou smiled and nodded in the direction of a small indoor shop down the road.

“Can see it from here.”

Byakuren glanced over down the road at the shop.

Just across from it, she could see the village’s sewing store. Her brow furrowed with thought as she looked onto it.

“Everything ok?” Shou asked quietly.

Byakuren nodded.

“Why don’t… you and Seija go and pick up the soap together?” Byakuren suggested. “There’s one last thing I need to get before we leave.”

Shou blinked.

“Oh? What?” She asked as she followed Byakuren's eyes.

Byakuren smiled and waved it off. “Nothing big. No need to worry about it.”

“Suspicious.” Seija said with a small smirk in her voice.

Byakuren chuckled and shook her head.

“You two hurry on. I’ll meet you back here when you’re done.”

“Well,” Shou shrugged. “If you say so.” She glanced down at Seija nervously. She paled a bit. Apparently the thought of being alone with Seija was daunting for her.

“Later, monk.” Seija said as she waved and turned away to head down the street towards the shop.

Shou hurried on after her.

Byakuren watched them make their way along, and made sure she saw them enter the shop before she moved down that same road and slipped into the sewing shop.

Inside, she was met with the smell of linens and dust. Her heels clacked against the wooden floorboards as she made her way into the otherwise quiet shop.

There were rolls upon rolls of colorful fabric lining the wooden shelves. On the end of each aisle were small displays of thread and spools and other miscellaneous sewing supplies.

Byakuren made her way back through the aisles to the back of the store where the yarn and knitting supplies were located.

The selection was somewhat limited, but it was as good as she had access to.

The store owner, a short girl with curly brown hair, slipped out from one of the aisles and moved over to Byakuren to greet her.

“Afternoon. Welcome.” She said with a shy grin.

Byakuren smiled back and gave her a bow. She knew this girl only vaguely.

Her name was Kumiko, and had visited her temple several times, but never seemed dedicated enough to make this a regular habit of hers.

Byakuran smiled. “Hello, Miss Kumiko.”

“Need help with anything?” Kumiko asked as she glanced over at the yarn Byakuren had previously been looking at.

Byakuren looked back over towards it as well as she thought for a moment. She picked up a skein of thin purple yarn.

“I’m making a scarf for my child.” Byakuren said as she ran her thumbs over the soft wool. “But she can get a little rough at times, and I’m not really sure if this would hold up. Do you have anything thicker?”

Kumiko glanced at the yarn in Byakuren’s hand.

“In that color?” She asked.

“Well, something purple. I suppose the shade doesn’t have to be exact.” Byakuren said.

Kumiko nodded.

“Thinking around a medium 4? Or something thicker?”

“Yes, I think that should do.” Byakuren said. “Or a size five.”

Kumiko nodded and moved passed Byakuren.

“The thicker stuff is against the back wall.” Kumiko pointed back towards that said wall.

Byakuren smiled.

“Thank you.”

“No problem.” Kumiko nodded.

Byakuren made her way over towards the back wall and skimmed her eyes along it until they came across the purples.

She made her way over towards them and put her hand on her chin as she considered each of them.

Kumiko left Byakuren be as she started restocking a display of seam rippers not too far away.

Byakuren picked up a particularly pretty thick purple yarn that was at the very bottom of the wall. She crouched down and turned it over in her hands.

It was a gradient yarn. The purples in it varied from a light lilac to a deep plumb. She smiled and ran her hands across it. It was soft. It was already starting to retain heat where the hand she was holding it with came into contact with the wool. It would make a warm scarf.

“So,” Kumiko’s voice brought Byakuren out of her thoughts. “Which kid are you knitting it for?” She asked.

Byakuren collected a few skeins of the yarn and pulled them into her arms as she stood back up straight.

“The newest member of my family. I’ve already knitted something for all the others in previous years. She needs something too.

“Oh?” Kumiko glanced up from her work. “That amanojaku?”

“Yes. Her name is Seija.” Byakuren said.

“You know, earlier Etsuko was in again. She said she heard Jirou going on about how he thinks that one is twisting your heart around.” Kumiko said slowly.

Byakuren frowned. “I was aware that he was concerned, yes…”

“You don’t seem any different to me, though.” Kumiko shrugged. “He’s just a crazy old man, you know.” Kumiko said boredly. She glanced at the yarn in Byakuren’s arms. “Oh, ready to check out?”

Byakuren nodded.

“Yes.” She said.

“Ok.” Kumiko placed down the remainder of the seam rippers she had yet to stock, and moved her way through the aisles over to the counter with the money box behind it.

Byakuren followed her and placed the skeins of yarn down onto the counter.

Kumiko eyed them and tapped them each as she counted them. She reached under the counter to pull out a small old calculator.

“He really was going off though… Jirou that is.” Kumiko said distractedly.

Byakuren frowned.

“I’ll have a word with him.” Byakuren said quietly.

Kumiko nodded as she mouthed “ _six times five is…”_ as she punched in numbers into her calculator.

“Said a bunch of things about you being manipulated and not being able to see the flaws of your ways or something.” Kumiko shrugged as she began scribbling down something.

“I see.” Byakuren’s frown deepened.

“He’s just a crazy old man.” Kumiko shook her head as she pulled out the cash box. “That’ll be 30 mon.” Kumiko said as she dug a key into the cash box.

Byakuren nodded as she reached into her blouse for her coin purse.

She snapped it open, and reached inside.

Byakuren winced as something sharp cut into her fingertips. She pulled her hand out of her coin purse to see scarlet blood dripping down the length of her index finger.

Kumiko froze as she glanced up to see this.

“Woah, you ok?” She asked.

Byakuren nodded and opened her coin purse more to glance inside.

She saw the white jagged edge of the chip of the begging bowl she had pocketed days before. Curious, she could have sworn she had taken that out by now.

She shrugged and moved her fingers back in, this time more cautiously, to fish out the required mon.

“I only got scratched on something sharp.” Byakuren told Kumiko, “Nothing to worry about.”

Kumiko blinked and gave her an unsure look, but accepted her mon none the less.

“Ok… if you say so.” She said as she accepted the mon. She placed in inside the cash box before locking it and placing it away under the counter again. “Do you want a bag?”

“Do you have just a plain brown one?” Byakuren asked. “I don’t want to ruin the surprise.”

Kumiko chuckled and nodded. She pulled out a brown bag and placed the yarn into it before handing it to Byakuren.

“Have a nice day, Miss Hijiri.”

“You too, Kumiko.” Byakuren said with a bow.

Byakuren smiled, tucked the bag under her arm, and exited the store.

Outside, Byakuren found that it had begun to sleet.

Small insignificant flakes of wet snow fell to the ground,

They landed on her shoulders and hair and immediately melted and soaked in against her skin.

The chilled air blew against her and cut at the wetness the sleet had created.

Her cheeks and nose turned red as they began to lose feeling already.

Byakuren wrapped her arms tightly around her, and hurried along down the road, her damp hair clinging to her forehead and cheeks the entire way.

Byakuren found Shou and Seija were waiting for her under Yu’s awning, though at first, she almost didn’t recognize them.

Shou had given Seija her cape, and now was only wearing a loose white sweater to fight off the frigidness of the air. Her face had lost some color and she looked uncomfortable, but smiled nonetheless when she saw Byakuren approaching.

Seija, however, was impossible to read. Byakuren could not see if she was smiling, as she had the much too big cape up. If she did not know this was Shou’s cape, she wouldn’t have been able to tell it was Seija at all. The cape drooped down past her forehead, and covered up half of her eyes. She had it tightly closed, and had nuzzled her chin and mouth into the collar of it, so only her nose and the occasional flashes of her eyes were showing.

Byakuren greeted them with smiles, hoping that they had not seen her exit the sewing shop.

“Sorry for the wait.” Byakuren said.

“No worries.” Shou said as she shook her head. Her words came out a little thickly as if she were trying to keep her teeth from chattering. She had her fists clenched tightly at her sides and her shoulders were forward and stiff. Her shoulders were already very damp with the melted sleet.

Byakuren frowned.

“Let’s hurry you two home. I don’t want you getting sick.” Byakuren said as she adjusted the paper bag in her arm.

She saw Seija’s red eyes flash as she eyed it, but luckily, she did not question it.

“Shou, sweetie, do you want my jacket?” Byakuren asked as she looked down.

She was wearing a light tan jacket that was tied closed around her waist.

Shou shook her head.

“No,” She said. “I don’t want you to be cold.”

“I don’t want you to be either, sweetie.” Byakuren said as she untied her jacket.

She held it up, and draped it over Shou’s shoulders.

Shou let out a little sigh of relief, then her face quickly turned into a guilty expression.

“Will you be ok?” Shou asked unsurely.

Byakuren nodded. “I’ll be just fine. Let’s just head home.”

Byakuren placed her hand on Shou’s shoulder, and began steering her down the road in the direction of the temple.

They quickly made their way out of town.

The numbness that was rapidly claiming Byakuren’s fingers was all the motivation she needed to press on as quickly as possible.

So quickly, in fact, that she accidentally put a small distance between herself and Seija as Seija lagged behind.

Seija’s short legs struggled to keep up with the two taller women. Before long, she found herself a dozen feet behind them. Shou’s long cape covered quite a good amount of her, and she wasn’t complaining.

They made their way along, the distance slowly but gradually grew between them.

By now, a good twenty feet separated them.

Up ahead, a figure came into view from a ways down the road.

This figure, first insignificant, gained in importance as the two parties drew closer together.

The once dot on the horizon began to take shape into a blob, then a silhouette, then a man.

Byakuren looked up ahead and saw that this man was Jirou, a farmer from in the village. A farmer that she hadn’t expected to see here.

Jirou had never once visited the temple this late in the evening. Even that afternoon he had gotten a letter informing him that his brother had died, he had waited till morning to visit her for words of comfort.

The sleet had picked up by now, and now was a heavy mix of wet ice.

Byakuren watched Jirou as they drew closer.

He had on his conical hat as always, by now, a thin layer of mushy ice had accumulated on top of it.

Byakuren could also see he had his quiver slung around his shoulder.

His thin eyes squinted forward and met her gaze firmly.

His feet pressed into the cold wet mud under his shoes, leaving behind a pair of muddy footprints in his wake.

As they approached, Byakuren slowed.

Jirou did as well.

Something in her stomach stirred as she looked onto him.

Around them, the heavy ice fell. The small pattering noises they made when they bounced off of Jirou’s hat filled the silence in the air.

For the first time in her life, Byakuren did not feel comfortable around Jirou.

She swallowed.

“Good afternoon, Mister Jirou,” Byakuren said as she came to a stop.

Jirou did not stop along with her as he usually would. He kept moving, and slowly passed her by.

Byakuren had to turn to face him as he moved along down the road.

His back was facing her.

She noticed he had something else slung around his shoulder, but her attention was brought off of this as she saw Seija further down the road.

Seija stood a ways away.

Byakuren was startled to see how far she had lagged behind. She felt her stomach twist with guilt.

Jirou moved on four more paces.

Byakuren frowned.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shou frown as well.

“Mister Jirou?” Byakuren asked quietly.

Jirou stopped.

In an instant of swirling motion and mud being splashed up, Jirou unslung the bow from his shoulder, and turned to face Byakuren head on, arrow pointed directly at her chest.

Byakuren flinched and took a startled step back.

Beside her, she saw Shou stiffen.

Jirou was panting heavily, his cheeks were red, his teeth clenched. His eyes were squinted as he pulled the bowstring back taut.

“Mister Jirou.” Byakuren breathed.

His eyes squinted more.

Just over his shoulder, Byakuren caught sight of Shou’s grey hood.

The bow creaked loudly, then, there was a _snap_.

In that instant, There was another whir of motion.

Jirou’s back was suddenly facing Byakuren seemingly without him ever moving.

There was an inaudible _hiss_ as an arrow shot through the air, then a sickening tearing sound.

Seija let out a yelp as the arrow dug into her chest.

 

* * *

 

 

_AN: Hello, and welcome hell! Population: Me, for doing this_

_Umm, I'm sorry to kinda, you know, do this, to cut off here_

_I'm double sorry because it took so long to get to this point but [ shrugs ] we all accidentally write a novel once in our lives, right? Right?_

_I'm going to stop apologizing here_

_Instead, I'm going to start thanking. You, yes, you, thank you for sticking with me this long if you have been._

_And thanks to the usual bunch Purvis, Chris, Noe, Elly, Aaron, Toad, and you ~~again~~ [ winks ]_

_Really, REALLY, I REALLLLLLLY appreciate your support. Like, I want to get all mushy and sappy and crying over how grateful I am, but I won't because that would be_ _embarrassing_

_Instead, I'll just say thanks_

_So_

_Thanks_

 

 

 


	9. Part 9

Seija woke in her futon with a small pained whine.

Her closed eyelids fluttered and her brow furrowed. Her legs under the white and purple quilt stirred slightly. The sound of rustling sheets and her labored breathing filled the air.

She opened her eyes, and was met with a bright blurry world.

As her eyes focused and the haze cleared, she realized she was looking up at a familiar wooden ceiling. She blinked.

She was in her room.

She glanced down at her body, and flinched when she saw someone was sitting beside her futon.

With this sudden movement, something in her chest ached. She reached up to cup the sore area, and found a bulky lump under her top. Her fingers lightly dug into it. She realized it was made up of several layers of bandages hidden under her shirt.

Before she could process any more of this, the figure moved, and drew her out of her thoughts.

The movement caused her eyes to go fuzzy again, she was having a hard time focusing in on whoever it was, but a familiar voice cut through the fog.

“Seija…” Byakuren said softly as she leaned closer, and lightly placed a hand on Seija’s shoulder.

Seija flinched again, her chest stung. She clenched her teeth.

“Relax.” Byakuren’s voice said again. “You need your rest.”

Seija let out a deep sigh as she settled back into her futon, her head spinning.

“What happened? What the hell are you doing in my room?” Seija asked. Her voice came out hoarse and dry.

“Relax. The moment is not right to speak of this. You need your rest.” Byakuren said.

“No.” Seija said as she focused her eyes on Byakuren.

Byakuren’s blurry face came into view. Her eyes were tired and darkened. Her hair was a mess. Her skin was pale.

Seija swallowed, and said, “Tell me.”

Byakuren sighed and wrung her hands together. She glanced over at Seija and pulled the quilt up over Seija’s shoulders again.

“You’ve been out for three days.” Byakuren said quietly.

Seija made to sit up, but Byakuren’s hands held her down. “No. Rest.” She said a bit more firmly.

“Three days?!” Seija gaped. Her eyebrows knitted together. “What…?” She closed her eyes and tried to recall. The last thing she could remember was struggling to keep Shou’s hood from covering her eyes.

Seija gave Byakuren a questioning look, silently asking her to elaborate.

Byakuren sighed and hung her head.

“You… Well, Mister Jirou… do you remember him?” Byakuren asked slowly.

Seija shook her head.

“On the way back home from the market, he aimed an arrow at me… But,” Byakuren looked up at Seija. “You reversed his stance so he was pointing in the opposite direction away from me... You were standing directly in back of him. You took the arrow.”

Seija paled and clutched at her chest.

Byakuren saw her do this.

“It didn’t hit anything important… The way it was angled, it didn’t do any real permanent damage… We took you home and treated you, but you weren’t recovering.” Byakuren said.

“What the hell happened to that Jirou?” Seija asked. If she tried to sound anything but frightened, she failed.

“He scurried off into the forest while Shou and I were trying to stop the bleeding… You just went down… Since then, he was found in his home and taken into custody.” Byakuren said as she scooted a bit closer so that she was kneeling at Seija’s shoulder.

Seija was silent for a moment. Her red eyes were wide and looking through Byakuren. Her fingers were still clutched into her chest.

Byakuren sighed and brushed the streak of red hair out of Seija’s face.

Seija didn’t react to this.

“You became very weak.” Byakuren said. “We were unsure why. A wound like that shouldn’t have affected you that much. Your amanojaku body should have been able to heal it quickly. But, it couldn’t. My limited knowledge of medicine could not help with this. So, we called in the doctor of Eientei.” Byakuren said slowly.

Seija had let her eyes fall shut.

Byakuren almost suspected that she had fallen back asleep, but her quick breathing assured her otherwise.

There was a long moment of silence as Byakuren searched for her words.

Seija bit at the inside of her lip. The pressure she had been putting on her chest lessened as she relaxed her grasp.

“So?” Seija asked quietly. “What did that doctor say?” She asked.

Byakuren swallowed hard.

There was an even longer moment of silence.

Seija opened her eyes and glanced up at Byakuren to find tears were streaming out of her eyes.

Byakuren sniffled and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.

Seija’s blood went cold.

“She,” Byakuren said thickly, “She agreed. She said your body should have been able to heal it… But… The way the wound wasn’t improving… It was almost like… like your body was struggling to regulate itself. So she started asking why… Then, she, well,” Byakuren wiped her eyes again and swallowed. “Seija, she came up with a theory.”

Seija eyed Byakuren silently.

Byakuren frowned and looked down at her. Her wet eyes glistened.

“She proposed… Maybe the reason your… body wasn’t able to handle the wound was because... “ Byakuren took a deep breath. “Seija, I’m sure you’ve heard your entire life what an amanojaku is supposed to be. I’m sure you’ve heard all those cruel things people expect of you.”

Seija swallowed, but did not say anything.

“And… well,” Byakuren continued, “Miss Yagokoro, she proposed… maybe… with how you behaved… with how you acted so out of character with what people expect to see in an amanojaku… Maybe with that action… you changed your very nature.”

Seija tensed and made to sit up.

Byakuren brought her hands to Seija’s shoulders and lightly pushed her back down onto the futon again.

“Rest.” Byakuren said.

“What are you getting at?” Seija asked, her voice raising to a dangerous level.

Byakuren swallowed. She kept her hands on Seija’s shoulders. They were so thin.

“Tell me what you’re saying.” Seija said as her volume raised even more.

“Seija,” Byakuren struggled to control her breathing, “If you… changed your nature like that… Your body would essentially be at war with itself as it… struggled with this development, and not able to adequately heal the wound. So, that would explai-”

“What the fuck do you mean change my nature, huh?” Seija’s nostrils flared.

“Seija,” Byakuren frowned.

“ **Well!?** ”

“What… what Miss Yagokoro said was… amanojakus… don’t behave like that.”

Seija sat up so quickly Byakuren didn’t have the chance to push her back down again.

“What are you saying?” Seija asked. Her volume had dropped, but was considerably darker.

“Maybe,” Byakuren breathed, “Maybe you’re not an amanojaku anymore…”

Seija made to get to her feet, but her head spun.

Byakuren pressed some weight onto her shoulders.

“Seija. Sit. You need your rest.” Byakuren pled.

Seija struggled against her. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut as she tried to stop the world from spinning. Her chest stung.

“Please!” Byakuren said.

Seija shook her head vehemently and struggled more.

Byakuren had to wrap her arms around her to hold her in place.

Seija kicked the quilt off her legs as she tried to get a solid footing to get to her feet.

Byakuren lightly pulled Seija against her, as she tried to get a firmer grip on her, but Seija raised a hand up as she tried to push her away.

This hand collided with Byakuren’s jaw with an unexpected force.

Byakuren’s grip went loose as she saw stars.

With this moment as her hold on Seija slackened, Seija stumbled to her feet and scurried over towards the door.

Her world was spinning, she stumbled and nearly fell, but stabilized herself as she grabbed the firm wood of the door. She slammed the door open, and practically fell through it as she rushed out.

As Byakuren regained her bearings, she heard Seija’s footsteps disappear down the hall.

Byakuren too stumbled to her feet, and made after Seija.

Seija was a ways ahead of her, hurrying along, as she used the nearby wall for support.

Byakuren rushed over towards her, but Seija rounded a corner and disappeared out of sight.

Byakuren ran around this corner too, but Seija was not there.

Byakuren rushed forward, head snapping back and forth as she glanced down every hallway Seija could have escaped down.

From a ways up ahead, she heard Ichirin’s voice carry over.

“Sister! What are you doing out of be-” Ichirin’s voice was cut off, then there was a loud crashing noise, and the sound of a door being slammed open.

Byakuren hurried over in that direction, and found Ichirin splayed out on the floor. Her back had broken through the screen wall behind her as if she had fallen through it. She was clutching onto her head and wincing.

Byakuren made her way over towards her and crouched down next to her.

“Are you ok?” Byakuren asked as she placed her hands on Ichirin’s shoulders.

Ichirin blinked up at her, her eyes were watering a little.

“Hm? Yeah…” Ichirin rubbed the back of her head. “Seija just came in here and…” Ichirin nodded across the hall.

Over a ways away, the back door was flung open off its tracks.

Byakuren felt her blood run cold.

“I’ll be right back. Byakuren said distractedly as she rushed over towards the back door.

She looked out it, and frantically scanned the sky and horizon for any sign of Seija, but there was nothing.

 

* * *

 

Byakuren looked for her, and she looked some more.

Time rushed by in a panicked blur.

Before she knew it, she had spent several hours searching.

At first, she doubted that Seija would be able to get far at all with that wound. But, apparently she was wrong as Seija was nowhere to be found anywhere nearby.

Seija was nowhere on the temple grounds. With a quick areal sweep of the area, Byakuren learned this quickly enough.

But, the dark thick forest surrounding them loomed nearby.

Byakuren looked onto it as her stomach churned with the realization that Seija must have fled into it.

Byakuren zoomed into the forest, eyes sharp and wet as she scanned her way through the trees.

Her feet instinctively carried her on forward as her mind was fuzzy with a million thoughts at once.

The air was biting and nipped at her cheeks and fingers, though they had lost most of their feeling some time ago.

From somewhere overhead, a small bird let out a chirp. Byakuren flinched at the sudden noise, and clutched her chest.

She glanced up at it and let out a small sigh.

Up through the barren tree branches she could see the sky hanging overhead was blanketed grey with thick long clouds.

She hadn’t gotten more than 7 hours of sleep in the entire span of 3 days.

Her head spun as she was momentarily disoriented as she brought her attention back down to the thicket in front of her.

She had to steady herself on a nearby tree as a wave of dizziness swept over her.

She waited for a long moment as she regained her bearings, then continued on forward through the trees.

Before long, she found herself feeling a sense of familiarity with her surroundings for some reason.

She brought her hand up and pushed away a branch that was in her way, several dry dead branches snapped and fell silently down onto the forest floor.

Byakuren stepped over them and made her way out into a small clearing.

Her head swam some more as she looked out onto it.

She recognized this to be the clearing she used to leave Seija’s bentos in.

Her stomach ached as she recalled this. It seemed like such a long time ago that the leaves were still falling around her as she made her way through the Autumn forest, bento box in hand.

She looked over at where that pile of leaves Seija used to lounge on had been.

Now, there was nothing. Not a single sign of this history could be found now.

Byakuren swallowed hard and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

Her palms were dirty from pushing her way through the forest. Her knuckles were white and cold to the touch.

She sighed and leaned up against a nearby tree as she felt another wave of dizziness approaching.

Through this blur of disorientation, she heard someone moving from behind her in the trees.

Her head snapped in that direction, causing it to spin even more.

Out of the shadows of the dead trees came Shou, who was wearing a very worried expression.

Byakuren’s stomach fell when she saw her. She had thought maybe…

“Mother!” Shou called as she rushed over to her side.

“Ah,” Was all Byakuren managed to say. She gave Shou a little nod of acknowledgement.

Shou placed her hands on Byakuren’s shoulders.

Byakuren could feel the warmth of her palms through her top.

Shou’s brow was knitted, her lips were tight and thin. Her eyes were staring straight into Byakuren’s. Her slit pupils were thin.

“Are you ok? You look like death.” Shou said as she tightened her grip on Byakuren’s shoulders a little.

Byakuren shook her head dismissively.

“I’m quite alright…”

“No you’re not.” Shou frowned. “Come back to the temple.”

“Seija’s still out there!” Byakuren frowned.

“Mother,” Shou sighed as she moved her hands down Byakuren’s arms and took Byakuren’s hands in her own. “You’re no good to her like this. You’re overworking yourself.”

“So is she!” Byakuren said. She had to blink back tears in her eyes.

Shou let out a sigh and shook her head, “You’re too weak to handle her right now. You’re not going to be able to think clearly enough to talk her into coming home, and you’re not strong enough if she decides to attack you.”

“She won’t attack me.” Byakuren frowned.

“She might.” Shou said as she gave Byakuren’s hands a squeeze. “I’ll look for her ok? And I’ll see if anyone in the temple will help out as well. But, you, you need to rest.” Shou said as she began lightly leading Byakuren back.

Byakuren lowered her gaze, but didn’t protest.

“I’m sorry to have worried you…” She said.

Shou shook her head and let go of Byakuren’s left hand as she pulled her back into the forest, out of the clearing.

“You are forgiven.” Shou said quietly. “Just please, we don’t need two missing family members, ok? I don’t want you to just collapse somewhere in the forest.”

Byakuren kept her eyes low, and nodded again, although Shou didn’t see as she now had her eyes ahead of her as she led the way through the forest back to the temple.

The entire way back was quiet. Shou did not release Byakuren’s hand. Whether this was out of worry that she would faint, suspicions that she would try to run, or for her own comfort and reassurance, Byakuren did not know, but Shou kept her fingers tightly wrapped around her own.

Before long, the temple came into view.

Shou let out a little sigh of relief as she stepped out of the treeline, leaving the forest behind.

Shou led her up to the back door.

Mamizou and Murasa were waiting for them when they arrived.

Both of them sprang to their feet at the sight of Byakuren.

Murasa rushed forward over towards Byakuren’s side.

“Look at you!” Murasa exclaimed.

Byakuren tried to give her a reassuring smile, but didn’t manage to muster it up well.

Murasa frowned back.

“Are you ok?” She asked as she glanced over at Shou, apparently expecting her to answer for her.

“She needs rest.” Shou said.

“I’ll say.” Mamizou said as she moved over towards the three. Mamizou tilted her head down and peered at Byakuren over the top of her glasses. “Holding up?”

Byakuren nodded.

“And… Seija…” Murasa frowned as she looked expectantly at Byakuren.

Byakuren frowned and silently shook her head.

Murasa paled, and said, “That idiot…”

“Let’s not talk about this. Mother, go lay down.” Shou said as she finally released Byakuren’s hand.

Byakuren nodded, but didn’t move.

“We’ll send out a few people to look for her. Don’t worry. We’ll find her.” Shou said as she looked down at Byakuren.

Byakuren nodded slowly, and glanced up at Murasa and Mamizou.

Murasa had her hands balled at her sides, and was looking at Shou expectantly as if to say “ _Point me in any direction, and I’ll get to work._ ”

Mamizou was wearing a dark look on her face that wasn’t directed at anyone in particular. When she saw Byakuren looking at her, she forced her face down into a more relaxed expression.

“Rest, Hijiri.” She said as she patted Byakuren’s shoulder.

Byakuren nodded.

“Good luck.” She said.

“Rest well.”

 

* * *

 

To her disappointment, when Byakuren awoke the next day, there was still no word of Seija.

Even more so, when she awoke the day after that, and after that even, there was still no sign of her despite Byakuren exhausting all her attempts to find her.

On the fourth day of no word from her, Byakuren began to fear for the worst.

Her head was filled with worried fantasies about Seija being somewhere lifeless and cold on the forest floor. Her stomach was filled with a cold panicked chill whenever she thought of this possibility.

Byakuren found herself in the kitchen preparing tea that would hopefully thaw, at least temporarily, this block of ice in her gut.

The past week had been bleak and grey. The cloud cover had not lifted in days, only adding to her depressed mood. The wind was still today, but in this stillness hung a tense silence.

Byakuren put her hands on the cold countertop as she watched the kettle on the stove heat up.

Small water droplets formed on its lower half as the water inside started to get hot.

She watched the kettle’s spout as she waited for signs of steam.

From behind her, she heard the door open. She glanced back to see that Kyouko had entered the room.

Kyouko’s ears were low, her tail was drooped down between her legs.

She looked  up at Byakuren with heavy lidded eyes.

Byakuren forced a smile and beckoned her over.

“Hello, my child.” Byakuren said softly.

Kyouko only nodded at this.

Kyouko moved forward into the room and wrapped her arms around Byakuren’s waist. She buried her face into Byakuren’s side, and let out a deep sigh.

Byakuren felt Kyouko’s warm breath sink through her robes and mingle along her ribs.

Byakuren brought her hand down and patted Kyouko on the head.

“How are you, my child? Are you ok?” Byakuren asked.

Kyouko didn’t respond to this, she only tightened her arms around Byakuren.

Byakuren frowned.

In the past week, this past horrible week, Kyouko had been affected greatly.

Byakuren hadn’t exactly realized just how attached Kyouko had become to Seija.

But, seeing her in this depressed mood made this clear enough.

Kyouko was usually such a bubbly happy girl, but Byakuren hadn’t seen her smile once in the past week.

Her stomach squirmed as she gave Kyouko a little squeeze back.

“I’m sorry.” Byakuren said softly.

Kyouko shook her head. With this motion her cheek rubbed against Byakuren’s side.

Byakuren smoothed down some of Kyouko’s hair.

“I know… It’s hard.”

Kyouko nodded this time. She gave Byakuren a squeeze.

Byakuren sighed and looked over at the kettle.

It was only just beginning to boil. The faint bubbling of the water within filled the thick silence in the air.

Byakuren ran her hands through Kyouko’s hair.

“I miss her too.” Byakuren said.

Kyouko gave Byakuren another small squeeze. She swallowed hard, and peeked up at Byakuren.

“Does she hate us?” Kyouko asked uncharacteristically quietly. Her voice was thick and cautious as if she were trying to control her tone.

Byakuren sighed and brushed some of the bangs out of Kyouko’s face.

“I don’t think anyone could ever hate you.” She said.

Kyouko frowned and lowered her gaze a little.

“Really?” She asked.

“Yes. There is no need for you to worry.”

Kyouko nodded and let go of Byakuren. She took a small step back and brought her hands together in front of her as she began twiddling her fingers.

“When is she coming back?” Kyouko asked.

Byakuren sighed.

“I’m not sure, Kyouko.” Byakuren said, “I’m sorry I don’t have a better answer than that. I suppose all we can do now is hope and wait.”

Kyouko nodded slowly and pouted.

“I guess…” She said quietly.

Byakuren gave her a small smile and ruffled her hair.

“Do you want to have some tea with me?” She asked.

Kyouko glanced up and shrugged.

“I guess…”

“I’ll make the kind you like, ok?” Byakuren smiled as she turned towards the cabinet. She opened it and pulled out a small orange box filled with orange and honey flavored tea.

Kyouko’s eyes lit up when she saw this.

“Really?” Her volume had picked up quite a bit.

Byakuren nodded and opened it.

“Mhm.” Byakuren lifted the box to her nose and breathed in the sweet warm scent of the tea leaves, then she brought it down to let Kyouko do the same.

Kyouko perked up.

Byakuren smiled and set the box aside as she pulled out a cup for Kyouko. She placed it down next to the one she had already taken out for herself

A few minutes later, the kettle was whistling.

Byakuren took it off the heat and poured the boiling water into the two cups.

The warm clouds of steam that hung lightly onto the water’s surface reached up and licked at her fingertips.

She realized she was cold.

She brought the kettle back down and placed it aside as she got to work adding the teabags and sugar.

The air began to fill with the citrusy sweet smell of oranges as the steaming cups wafted warm puffs of the fragrance upward.

Byakuren handed Kyouko her cup.

Kyouko took it. She still wasn’t smiling, but her eyes were definitely a bit more lively.

Byakuren smiled and picked up her own cup.

“Don’t burn yourself. It’s hot.” Byakuren said as she raised the cup up to her lips.

Kyouko shook her head, and said, “Of course I won’t.” Before too bringing the cup up to her lips.

They both simultaneously took cautious sips.

The tea was scalding, but welcome in small amounts.

Byakuren let out a little sigh as she felt her throat warm as she swallowed it.

The block of ice in her stomach weakened a bit. It’s biting cold was tamed for a fraction of a second. With more tea, Byakuren could only hope this condition would only improve.

 

* * *

 

That evening was the first evening in many evenings that Mamizou had come home.

This wasn’t all that unusual for the tanuki. She had a habit of staying out for days on end.

What was unusual about this, though, was when Mamizou returned home to the temple, she had insisted on cooking dinner herself.

She had pushed a very confused Byakuren out of the kitchen, and had taken up chopping and boiling up vegetables like clockwork… Aggressive clockwork.

What was even more unusual about Mamizou this evening, was that she was in a terrible mood.

Mamizou, although often coming home exhausted and/or slightly aggravated, was never particularly angry, and if she was it was most always do to a noisy household that irritated her hungover headaches.

Tonight, Mamizou was hacking at the cabbage like it was her sworn enemy.

The wooden cutting board was taking a very rough beating with every _CLACK_ as her knife smacked against it.

Mamizou had the sleeves of her brown sweater pushed up above her elbows. Her messy brown hair was tied back, her bangs were lifted off of her face, revealing a very furrowed and angry brow. She was biting at the inside of her cheek as she started whisking the batter she had previously prepared very roughly as if she were imagining giving someone a very violent noogie.

Byakuren hung just outside the kitchen door nervously peering in and wondering just what had gotten into her.

A moment later, Nue sauntered into the kitchen wearing a surprised but happy grin.

She walked right by Byakuren, and waved towards Mamizou, though Mamizou did not see this movement as she had her back towards her.

“Hey, when’d you get back?” Nue asked, her voice came out light and friendly. She gave Mamizou a warm smile.

Mamizou’s shoulders tightened.

She started whisking harder, the metal whisk screeched against the bottom of the glass bowl as it scraped against it.

Byakuren vaguely wondered if she was bending the whisk’s wires with the force.

“Just now.” Mamizou answered.

_Sccchchh scchchh schhhchhhh sccchchh scchchh schhhchhhh_

She started mixing more loudly.

Nue chuckled.

“Who’s got your tail in a knot? You’re gonna dig through the bowl.” Nue moved over towards Mamizou’s side and leaned against the counter nonchalantly.

Nue’s expression changed as she saw Mamizou’s face. Her smile faltered, her eyes filled with worry.

“What happened?” Nue asked, her tone had changed as well.

Mamizou shook her head. Her ears twitched irritatedly.

Nue frowned and lowered her eyebrows.

“Mamizou.” Nue said.

“Nue.” Mamizou said tightly back.

Mamizou apparently decided that this mixing was enough, as she placed the bowl down very roughly onto the counter with a sharp _bang_.

Byakuren flinched at the noise, and ducked a little bit behind the doorframe.

This movement caught Nue’s eyes. She glanced over at Byakuren curiously and blinked.

Byakuren forced a smile and waved it off.

Nue blinked and nodded over to Mamizou, silently saying, " _What’s up with her?_ ”

Byakuren frowned and shrugged as to say, “ _I'm not sure myself._ ”

Nue glanced at Mamizou then back to Byakuren and mouthed, “ _Want me to find out?_ ”

Before Byakuren and Nue could continue on with their private discussion, Mamizou’s ears twitched in the direction of Nue.

Nue blinked at her and gave her a half smile.

“Get your heart broken or something?” Nue asked, but her tone wasn’t as committed to being cocky as it usually was.

Mamizou just sighed.

“I’m not like you. I don’t get attached to pretty girls.” Mamizou said as she moved over and started heating up a pan.

Nue scoffed.

“Yeah right.” She said with a roll of her red eyes. Her wings fluttered a bit.

Mamizou just sighed and turned up the heat.

“Come on, was it that blonde that was hanging on your arm a few days ago?”  Nue asked. She glanced over at Byakuren.

Byakuren frowned.

“Me and Yumika are just friends.” Mamizou said with a threatening sigh.

“Sure,” Nue’s crooked smile turned into a smirk, “That’s why you came home wearing her perfume.”

Mamizou sliced into a stick of butter and threw it into the heated frying pan, it hissed as it bubbled and melted. Mamizou tossed the vegetables and eggs in with the batter she had prepared, and started mixing it.

Nue folded her arms and watched Mamizou as she did this.

Mamizou stirred faster.

“Come on, Mami.” Nue frowned. Her voice had dropped a bit. “What’s wrong? You’re never like this.”

Mamizou poured in a large glob of the mixture she had created into the pan.

“Help me get started on the rice.” Mamizou said dismissively.

Nue frowned.

“Mamizou…” Nue uncrossed her arms.

Mamizou let out another threatening sigh.

“If you’re just going to sit here and prod at me, then at least help, you asshole.” Mamizou said as she started tending to the frying pan.

Nue sighed and bent down to pull out a large silver pot. She moved over to the sink and filled it with water, then toted it over to the stove and turned on the heat.

Mamizou didn’t turn her head to look away from her work, but her ears twitched in Nue’s direction as she listened closely to her actions.

Once Nue finished, she settled back into her leaning position as she waited for the water to boil, she turned her attention back to Mamizou.

“What are you making?”

“Okonomiyaki.” Mamizou said.

“It doesn’t have anything but vegetables.”

“Think about Hijiri for once, will you?” Mamizou sighed.

Nue glanced back at Byakuren.

Byakuren was caught a little off guard by this, she thought maybe perhaps Nue had forgotten about her presence.

Nue shrugged and turned towards the ice box. She opened it and began digging through it.

Mamizou glanced over at her curiously.

Nue noticed this. “Just because she eats like a rabbit doesn’t mean I do. I’ll just make a side dish for the rest of us.”

“If you wanna be the one to prepare it.” Mamizou said.

Nue nodded and pulled out some shrimp.

Mamizou nodded silently to herself.

“Just make sure you don’t burn them like last time.” Mamizou said distractedly as she flipped the okonomiyaki.

“I won’t!” Nue huffed.

Mamizou scoffed.

Both Byakuren and Nue were surprised at the sound of her laugh.

Nue blinked, and asked again, “What’s wrong?”

Mamizou was silent for a few long moments.

The sound of the okonomiyaki sizzling on the pan filled the air.

“I was out looking for that problem child.” Mamizou said at last.

Both Byakuren and Nue gaped.

“Seija?” Nue blinked.

“I hate her, but seeing Hijiri like this just pisses me off. I wanted to smack some sense into her. Who the hell makes a monk worry like that? A piece of shit like her.” Mamizou said.

Nue refolded her arms and blinked.

Mamizou glanced over at her, Nue nodded for her to continue.

“I didn’t find her.” Mamizou said. “Obviously. Because if I did, I would have carried her dumb unconcious body home.” Mamizou sighed as she flipped the okonomiyaki onto a plate and filled the pan again with butter.

Nue scoffed a little.

“You’re such a brute sometimes.”

“I’m not a brute. I’m pissed.” Mamizou said.

Nue sighed and nodded.

Before Mamizou continued on with her thought, she turned and made her way over towards the cabinet on the opposite wall to retrieve some more plates.

Byakuren flinched back out of sight and hid behind the doorframe.

She was almost positive Mamizou had heard this movement, but she didn’t say anything indicating she did.

Instead, there was just the clatter of dishes as Mamizou started placing the plates out onto the counter.

“Your water is boiling.” Mamizou said distractedly to Nue.

Nue huffed, “Fine, fine.”

“The bag of rice in the kitchen is empty. Go get more from the pantry.” Mamizou said.

“Fine, fine.” Nue said again.

Byakuren heard her footsteps approaching.

The next moment, Nue appeared in the doorframe.

Nue gave Byakuren a small smile, before walking past her down the hall.

Byakuren let out a small sigh as she watched her go.

There was a moment of silence as Byakuren listened to Nue’s footsteps disappearing down the hall, and the okonomiyaki sizzling in the other room.

Then, Mamizou spoke and said, “I’m sorry, Hijiri.” From where she stood.

Byakuren peeked in around the doorway.

Mamizou had her back towards her, as she flipped the okonomiyaki.

Byakuren frowned.

“I really did look for her.” Mamizou said. “Couldn't find her. I’m sorry.” Mamizou’s voice bounced off the wall in front of her and carried back over to Byakuren’s ears.

Byakuren sighed and shook her head.

“No worries, Miss Mamizou… I appreciate your efforts.” Byakuren said.

Mamizou remained silent at this, she glanced over at the shrimp Nue had left out on the counter and sighed a little.

“Yeah…” Mamizou said quietly before turning her attention back to the stove in front of her.

The conversation tapered off.

Byakuren sat in the uncomfortable silence.

She leaned up against the doorframe as she folded her arms and let her head hang down.

Her stomach churned.

Distant footsteps drew nearer, she almost didn’t look up, as she expected this to simply be Nue returning from retrieving the rice, but as they came nearer, Byakuren recognized the pattern of steps to not belong to Nue.

Nue’s steps were quick and light, her thin body and long legs allowed for this.

These, however, were a bit heavier and clunky.

Byakuren glanced up to see Murasa making her way down the hallway.

She was surprised to see a green glowing tint dusting Murasa’s cheeks.

Murasa frowned as she saw Byakuren, but her eyes were wide and alert.

“What’s wrong?” Byakuren asked.

From within the kitchen, Byakuren heard Mamizou place down her spatula.

Murasa was a little out of breath when she reached Byakuren’s side. She put a translucent hand on Byakuren’s shoulder and pulled her forward a bit.

“There’s..- in the temple- heard…” Murasa panted.

Byakuren frowned and placed her hands on Murasa’s upper arms. “Calm down. Tell me, what’s happening.”

Murasa took a deep breath and straightened herself up.

She looked Byakuren in the eyes and swallowed.

“I heard someone moving in Seija’s room.” Murasa said at last.

Byakuren’s blood went cold.

She heard Mamizou hurry over towards the doorway.

“What?” Mamizou asked before Byakuren had the chance to.

Murasa glanced at Mamizou.

“I was mopping, and I definitely heard some sheets moving.” Murasa said.

Before Murasa could continue on with anything more she wanted to say, Byakuern was rushing down the hall in the direction of Seija’s room, surprisingly, Mamizou was following quickly in tow.

They hurried along down the hallways. Along the way, it got increasingly darker as most of the temples activities had been located in the main rooms this evening.

The lamplights of the distant rooms became fainter and fainter as they made their way along.

Before long, they found themselves face to face with Seija’s shut door.

Byakuren felt her heart hammering in her chest, she was panting from rushing over here so quickly. She struggled to control her breathing.

She swallowed hard and turned her head to press her ear against the door.

Beside her, she saw Mamizou was watching her expectantly.

Byakuren held her breath and strained her ear as she listened.

At first, there was nothing. Then, after a few long moments, her heart skipped as she could have almost swore she heard movement. Almost, but not quite.

Byakuren closed her eyes and leaned against the door a little more.

She could only just barely hear breathing, but was that Mamizou’s? She couldn’t tell.

Byakuren stood up straight and reopened her eyes.

Mamizou looked at her and frowned.

Byakuren shrugged and shook her head.

Mamizou sighed and took a step forward.

Mamizou roughly knocked her knuckles so hard on the door it made Byakuren flinch at the noise.

More importantly to her, though, was that from within the room there was definitely a sudden movement as if someone inside had flinched as well.

Byakuren let out a long cautious sigh and looked at Mamizou.

Mamizou glanced back at her, only for a second, then turned back to the door to knock again.

“ **Hey!** ” Mamizou called.

Byakuren hushed her.

“Hey, open up.” Mamizou said as she tried to open the door.

It was locked.

Byakuren blinked, she was positive she had left it open before.

Mamizou yanked harder on the door. It rattled against its tracks.

“Miss Mamizou,” Byakuren hushed, “Don’t go scaring her away…”

“No.” Mamizou said as she yanked on the door again, “I’m gonna give her a piece of my mind.”

“Miss Mamizou, no!” Byakuren pled.

Mamizou shook her head and yanked even harder than before.

The weak wood let out a threatening creak as it took the force.

Before Byakuren could plead with her to stop, there was a sickening _snap_ as one of the door’s long supports gave out and broke, Mamizou took advantage of the door’s weakened state. She put both hands on the door, and pulled with all her might.

Her ears stood up straight as her face turned pink, her tail puffed out with the strain.

The door folded lamely in against itself with a _crack,_ and fell in.

The room inside came into view.

Directly across the way, were two windows. One was flung open, and halfway out it was Seija.

Seija was gaping back at the broken doorway, Mamizou, and Byakuren.

Her eyes were wide, her mouth was open.

Before Byakuren could see anymore, Seija disappeared out the window.

Mamizou wasted no time chasing after her. She ran into the room, and hopped cleanly through the window after Seija.

Byakuren stood where she was for a fraction of an instant as she tried to process what had just happened.

She nearly froze up entirely, but willed herself out of her trance.

Byakuren too rushed forward into the room.

She made her way over towards the window and looked out it.

About 50 feet away, was Mamizou, she was zooming forward and closing the distance between herself and Seija who was just a bit a ways in front of her.

Byakuren hopped out the window and took to the air as she flew up towards them as well.

She could hear Mamizou shouting something, but she was too far away to tell what it was.

The night was cold, but she didn’t feel it, her heart was pounding and pumping blood through her veins.

Her cheeks were red from the stress, her hair was whipping wildly around her as the wind in her face tossed it around.

Up ahead, something around Mamizou started to glow.

Byakuren’s heart skipped a beat as she realized Mamizou was preparing to fire a spell card at Seija.

“Miss Mamizou!” Byakuren called, but she was too far away for Mamizou to hear.

Or, if she did, she didn’t pay any attention to Byakuren’s pleas.

An instant later, Mamizou fired a thin layer of blue danmaku after Seija.

Seija glanced back at her, but Byakuren was too far away to read her face.

Seija tried to keep fleeing, but after a few moments these blue bullets turned into silhouettes in the shape of humanoid forms, and the bullets, seemingly themselves, fired yellow danmaku after Seija.

One thin yellow bullet came dangerously close to Seija’s leg.

She had to turn around to face the spell card head on and hold her ground, or suffer the threat of taking a danmaku to the back of her skull.

Byakuren rushed forward up to the pair as they slowed and stopped. They hung in the air, Mamizou, just a dozen feet away, shot another wave of blue bullets that transformed just like the last ones. These little silhouette bullets fired some more at Seija.

Seija sloppily avoided them.

Byakuren frowned at this, in her previous fight with Seija, she knew Seija was fairly talented at keeping a clean form, or at least cleaner than this.

Seija swerved around one of the silhouetted blue humanoid bullets, and it almost clipped at her side.

Byakuren moved even closer, but had to stop where she was, a good distance away, as bullets were heading towards her as well.

Seija started up a spell card of her own, and sent red oval shaped danmakus in Mamizou’s direction.

Byakuren could almost recall this spell card, but it was different now. The bullets were smaller and thinner. They didn’t seem to glow as bright.

Mamizou easily moved over towards a very wide open portion near the center of Seija’s shooting range, and avoided any risk of being hit at all.

Byakuren frowned, it looked as if this card was missing an element, that wide spot in the middle definitely should have been filled with something, though Byakuren was struggling to recall.

Instead of thinking anymore on this, she cupped her hands around her mouth, and shouted to Mamizou, “ **Stop fighting!** ”

Mamizou ended her spell card, only to start up a new one, to Byakuren’s dismay.

Suddenly, Mamizou flew up above Seija and started firing wave after wave of green bullets.

These green bullets fell down on Seija like rain, she struggled to avoid them, but struggled even more when they transformed into the silhouettes of animals that charged at her.

Seija’s card dropped as one of these bullets burned against her shoulder. She winced and took longer than she should have to muster up another card.

All the while, Mamizou kept raining more and more green down upon her.

Byakuren frowned and tried to get closer, but Mamizou saw this and shot a thick wave of green over at her.

So thickly, that there was no chance Byakuren would be able to squeeze through it.

Byakuren moved back out of the way to narrowly avoid it.

Seija started up another card, this one was of glowing purple bullets.

This card came off a little stronger than her previous one, but still it was weaker than Byakuren remembered.

The purple bullets she shot at Mamizou were easily avoided, and only managed to create a tighter space for Seija to move around in herself.

Some of Seija’s bullets weren’t moving as quickly as she anticipated, they hung around her for much too long as they spawned, Seija was working to avoid not only Mamizou’s bullets, but her own.

Mamizou’s card ended after a few more moments, but before she could even start up another one, the air filled with Seija’s cry as one of her purple bullets collided with her stomach.

Seija’s card abruptly ended.

From where she was, Byakuren momentarily caught sight of Seija’s pained face lit up in the violet glow of the bullet.

Then, Seija went limp, and she fell from the sky.

Byakuren shot after her, as Seija’s body fell.

Seija’s body zoomed down through the air. Her arms and legs flailed out in front of her like a ragdoll as her head slackened back uncomfortably.

Byakuren’s chest ached as she held in a breath.

The wind was cutting at her face, the cold made tears form in her eyes. She had to blink them away.

Seija neared the ground.

Just a few seconds before colliding with it, Byakuren zoomed over and scooped her up.

Byakuren leveled out, as she clutched Seija’s body in her arms.

Seija’s head lolled back weakly, her dark splotched hair was hanging out of her face.

Byakuren glanced down at her, and saw her eyes were fluttering as if she were trying to wake.

Byakuren sighed and hugged her close. She supported Seija’s head with her hand and held her face lightly against her shoulder.

Seija’s faint warm breathing lightly soaked in through her top

Byakuren concentrated on this as she lowered herself to the ground, and touched down.

Byakuren slowly moved over to the back porch and let out a sigh as she sank down and seated herself on the wood, fearing her legs would give out under her any moment later.

Seija was so light.

Byakuren swallowed down a lump in her throat as she looked down on Seija’s face.

Seija was so dirty. Her normally dark cheeks were pale, her hair was messy and matted. Her eyes were open just a small amount as they continued to flutter.

Byakuren held Seija against her again, and buried her face in the top of Seija’s hair with a whispered, “ _Thank the heavens…_ ”

Mamizou landed next to her, and crouched down at her side.

Byakuren squeezed her eyes shut and didn’t look up at her.

She heard Mamizou let out a little sigh.

“She alive?” Mamizou asked quietly.

Byakuren swallowed down another lump in her throat and nodded.

Byakuren sat like that for a long moment, face nuzzled in Seija’s hair, clutching her limp body close. Byakuren concentrated on Seija’s shoulders as she felt them lightly moving up and down with her breathing. Byakuren’s mind raced with the repeated phrase “ _She’s ok. She’s ok._ ”

Finally, she took in a deep breath to collect herself, and opened her eyes.

Byakuren placed a light kiss on top of Seija’s head, right between her horns, and looked up at Mamizou.

Mamizou frowned as she met Byakuren’s gaze. Her ears drooped guiltily.

Byakuren sighed and looked back down at Seija.

Seija’s eyes had fallen shut, and her lips had parted slightly. Her breathing was coming out a little deeper now as if she had fallen asleep.

Byakuren ran her hand through Seija’s matted hair.

Seija didn’t stir at this.

Byakuren quietly watched her for a few more moments before carefully lifting her up as she got to her feet unsteadily.

Mamizou moved forward and helped her.

Byakuren frowned and looked at Mamizou again.

Mamizou kept her eyes and ears low. She let out a small sigh.

“I’m sorry, Hijiri.” Mamizou said after a long moment of tense silence.

Byakuren hesitated as she let these words soak in, then gave Mamizou a small reassuring smile.

“You are forgiven.” Byakuren said quietly.

Seija let out a light snore from in Byakuren’s arms.

Byakuren once again brought her eyes down and rested them on her face.

She tried to absorb every detail as she tried to wrap her mind around the situation.

Just a few hours ago she was terrified that she would never see Seija again, but now here she was in her arms, alive and breathing.

Byakuren tried to calm her pounding heart.

She closed her eyes and took in a few calming breaths.

“Why don’t you go set her down?” Mamizou asked.

Byakuren nodded and reopened her eyes.

She turned and made her way back into the temple.

Mamizou opened the back door for her, and she stepped inside.

She was met with Kyouko, Murasa, Ichirin, and Shou waiting just inside.

They ogled at Seija in her arms, but before they could question it, Byakuren hushed them and promised them an explanation later when she herself fully understood the situation.

Then, Byakuren made her way through the small crowd and brought Seija to her room.

Byakuren layed Seija down on her futon.

Seija’s hair flared out over the pillow. Her head relaxed back into it. From deep within her sleep, she let out a contented sigh.

Byakuren wondered for a moment where Seija had been sleeping in the days she had been away from the temple, but her stomach filled with so much worry, she decided to push this thought down.

Instead, Byakuren got up to close the window that had been left open after Seija, Mamizou, and herself had jumped through it.

Byakuren returned to Seija’s side and pulled the quilt up to Seija’s stomach.

She moved to pull it higher, but her eyes caught sight of a small dark brown splotch on her top.

Byakuren felt a chill run down her spine as she recognized this as blood from the wound the arrow had given her.

Byakuren lightly ran her finger over the area, she could feel no bandages under Seija’s top.

Byakuren frowned and looked around the darkened room.

Luckily, there were bandages nearby. They had been left there when Byakuren had patched Seija up the first time. Byakuren fully inteneded on changing Seija’s bandages daily, but Seija’s disappearance made this impossible.

Byakuren clutched the roll of bandages in her hand as she looked down onto the dark splotch on Seija’s top.

She knelt down next to her again and hesitated.

She wasn’t sure exactly how the wound had progressed. Seija was always so rowdy, and had such a bad habit of pushing herself too far…

Byakuren shook her head of these thoughts, and undid Seija’s first few buttons.

Underneath, she was relieved to see the wound had healed considerably.

Before, it had been a gaping scarlet mess, now it was just a thick dark scap that wasn’t even half the size of what it had previously been.

Byakuren let out a shuttering breath of relief, and realized her hands were shaking.

The roll of bandages fell from her fingers. She gripped at it again, but her fingers were trembling so roughly it fell again. She managed to capture it on her next attempt, though.

Byakuren took in a long deep breath as she tried to calm herself, then got to work bandaging Seija up.

 

* * *

 

 

_AN:  Hey, just a few things I wanna talk about right here_

_One being that next Monday there won't be a chapter up, I'm going out of town and I don't want to have to tote around my laptop with me to keep caught up, so I'm just going to take a much needed week off_

_Don't worry, the Monday after that, ( assuming I don't die in a plane crash [ knocks on wood ] ) there will be a chapter up, so alls good_

_Secondly! Oh my god look at the word count holy shit I doubled NaNoWriMo's goal, this is really big news!! I'm really proud!_

_Thirdly! You! Yes! Thank you so much! I really appreciate any support, but I won't talk your ear off on how grateful I am, so just know that any nice comments just make my entire week, so thank you_

_Lastly! Shout outs to the usual bunch: Purvis, Aaron, Noe, Chris, Elly, Toad, and You [ winks ]_

_Thank you so much, see you soon_

 


	10. Part 10

Seija awoke feeling more terrible than she had ever felt in her entire life, even more terrible than those times she had been bloodied and beaten by the Hakurei shrine maiden.

She let out a little groan and habitually clutched her chest where her wound was. She was surprised to feel she had been bandaged up again. Her fingers lightly dug into the cotton gauze.

She blinked up, and saw the wooden ceiling of her room.

Sunlight cast down from the window on the wall and shone down onto the quilt covering her body. It was heated by the sun’s warmth. Seija settled into it, and tried to recall what had happened that had led her to this moment.

But, before she could do much remembering, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye.

She flinched and glanced over to see Byakuren across the room. Byakuren was kneeling over a basket of half folded clothes, to Seija’s annoyance, her own clothes. Byakuren was turned partially away from her, Seija could only see half of Byakuren’s face. She saw Byakuren’s eyes were shut. Byakuren’s head slightly bobbed. It seemed she was trying to keep herself awake, and failing.

Byakuren’s head drooped down low, this sudden movement shook her awake. Byakuren straightened herself back up again, and tried to refocus her attention on the clothes in front of her.

Byakuren picked up one of Seija’s tops, and lazily began folding it. She only managed to get one good fold in though, before her eyes started to flutter shut again. Her head bobbed.

Seija collected her strength and raised herself up a bit. She propped herself up on her elbow and turned to face Byakuren as well as she could.

Her sore body ached at this movement, it felt as if her muscles were tearing themselves apart. She could almost swear she could feel her bones grinding against each other.

Seija winced and took in a deep breath as she let this sensation fade. It took a bit of time, but eventually the wave of pain ebbed.

Seija took in a deep breath and opened her mouth, but did not speak.

She was suddenly unsure of what to say. She racked her brain, trying to come up with a Seija-y thing to say, but her mind was fuzzy, and no sarcastic comments surfaced.

So, instead, she settled simply with, “Monk.”

Byakuren’s eyes fluttered open, but she did not look over at Seija. Instead, she merely straightened herself up again, and continued on with folding the shirt in her hands.

Seija let out an aggravated sigh, and said, “Monk!” again, this time more loudly.

Byakuren seemed to have heard her this time as her head snapped over in Seija’s direction.

Seija blinked as she felt Byakuren’s eyes land on her.

Seija saw Byakuren’s eyes focus on her, then fill with the realization of what they were seeing.

Byakuren’s mouth fell open, she gasped and rushed over to Seija’s side.

“My sweet dear child!” Byakuren exclaimed. Byakuren brought her hands up, but didn’t seem to know what to do with them. She let them hang in the air awkwardly as she looked down at Seija.

Seija looked up at her blank faced.

Byakuren seemed to be struggling with her words. Her mouth hung open, but no sound came out. Her brow furrowed as she brought her hands together and began to nervously wring them together.

“Are you…” Byakuren said thickly, “Are you ok?”

Seija closed her eyes, and tried not to focus on her screaming body.

“Never better.” Seija said. She glanced up at Byakuren. “What the hell are you doing in my room?” Seija asked.

Byakuren blinked at this.

Seija spoke in a curious tone, as if she hadn’t just been missing for days on end. She spoke as if she hadn’t taken an arrow for Byakuren. She used her usual cold tone, as Seija-y as ever. It was almost as if the previous week hadn’t even happened. But, the bulky bandaging under Seija’s top told a different story.

Byakuren frowned down at the lump the bandages made in Seija’s top.

“Well?” Seija asked. She raised one of her thick black eyebrows.

Byakuren wrung her hands together quicker.

“I was… folding clothes… and watching over you.”

Seija’s eyes narrowed.

“I don’t need you _watching over me_ , monk.” Seija said darkly.

Byakuren just frowned and settled herself in next to Seija’s futon.

“Do you recall what happened last night?” Byakuren asked.

Seija moved her hand up to scratch at the back of her ear. Her bicep cried out in pain with this movement, but Seija kept her face calm as to not show it.

“Nope.” Seija said.

Byakuren lowered her gaze, and said, “Oh…”

“You gonna clear that up or what, monk?” Seija asked annoyedly.

Byakuren frowned and bit at the inside of her lip.

“You came home… You were missing for so many days… We were all so worried about you…”

Seija sighed and now scratched at the bottom of her chin. Her arm felt as if it were about to fall off.

“Can’t I get some time away from you clingy idiots?” Seija more of said rather than asked.

“Seija, you were wounded!” Byakuren said a bit more loudly than she anticipated. She had to will herself to keep her volume lowered, “You were weak and you just disappeared. We didn’t know what happened to you. I was terrified they would find you dead!” Before Byakuren knew it, tears were streaming down out of her tired eyes. She had to wipe them away. “I thought- I don’t know- But, I was so frightened… And after what Yagokoro said about y-”

“Stop blubbering!” Seija shouted.

Byakuren blinked up at Seija through her wet eyelashes.

Seija’s face was twisted in a snarl.

“I wake up and not even five damn minutes later I have to deal with your bullshit. Get out of my room.” Seija said.

“But, I need to make sure your wounds are healing well!!”

“I don’t have any wounds!” Seija huffed. She sat up to prove this. Her torso felt as if it were on fire. The air was pushed out of her lungs, she had to force down a cry.

Byakuren brought her hand up, her fingers hovered inches from Seija’s shoulder as she hesitated placing it on her.

Seija glared down at Byakuren’s hand. Her eyes burned into Byakuren’s palm.

“Don’t. Touch. Me.” Seija said through gritted teeth. She was fairly pleased on how unwelcoming she made her voice sound. Though the actual reason behind her bitter tone was from her holding back tears, she managed to pull off her usual sharp angry voice quite well.

Byakuren frowned and pulled her hand back.

“I’m sorry…” Byakuren said.

“Get out of my room.” Seija said.

Byakuren frowned and hesitated some more.

Seija eyed her darkly.

“Are you as deaf as you are stupid!? Get out!” Seija shouted. Her voice echoed off the walls.

Byakuren lowered her gaze quietly. After a moment, she got to her feet and moved over towards the broken door. She hesitated in its frame, and glanced back at Seija.

Seija was watching her expectantly. She raised her eyebrows as if to say “ _Well_?”

Byakuren frowned.

“If you need anything… I’m happy to help, my dear child…” Byakuren said quietly.

Seija’s expression remained unchanging.

“I’ll leave you to rest…” Byakuren gave Seija a small bow before slowly stepping through the broken doorway.

Her footsteps disappeared down the hall.

When Seija was sure she was gone, She collapsed down into her futon, and buried her face into her pillow as she clutched at her aching torso. She let out a muffled scream into her pillow, and hoped Nue wasn’t around to hear her sobbing.

 

* * *

 

 

The following days did not progress in the way that Byakuren anticipated they might. To her dismay, quite the opposite of what she hoped would happen did indeed take place.

Byakuren had spent the entirety of Seija’s absence worrying and fretting over her from a helpless distance. She had expected that upon Seija’s return she would feel some type of relief from the sickening worry that made her stomach squirm, but apparently this wasn’t the case.

In fact, Byakuren found herself worrying more about Seija now than she had in the past, possibly even more so than that first night they met.

Seija kept her distance from not only Byakuren, but the rest of the temple’s residents.

She made herself scarce around the temple, and even scarcer during meals.

Where in the past Seija would sit down, albeit silently, and join the rest of the residents for meals, now Seija would simply appear when the food was brought out, collect a plateful, then disappear back into her room.

In the brief glances Byakuren was allowed at Seija, she saw Seija was always wearing the same exhausted expression. More often than not, Seija’s eyes were bloodshot and puffy and her cheeks lacked their usual color.

In the instances when Byakuren did not see Seija’s eyes in this state, she did not see them at all. It seemed Seija had taken up the habit of letting her bangs hang in her face. Seija’s hair had grown a small noticeable length in the time she had been staying in the temple, whether this new hairstyle was due to the added inch in bangs or if Seija was just attempting to hide her eyes from view, Byakuren could not be certain of, but she had the sickening feeling it was the latter.

After meals, Seija’s dirtied dishes appeared in the sink, apparently placed there in the hours of the night no one was in the kitchen. Several times Byakuren had made her way over to Seija’s room and offered to clean Seija’s dishes, but she was only met with silence on the other end of the door.

Seija’s broken door had been quickly replaced, apparently Seija herself had done the manual work. One morning, the broken door was just found out on the front steps as if it had been haphazardly thrown down them. A new door stood in the old one’s tracks. This new door once had been the door to one of the storage rooms on the east side of the temple. The room that this door once belong to now had a doorless track, inside boxes upon boxes of miscellaneous goods balanced precariously on top of one another threatening to spill out into the hall with no door to stop this from happening.

Murasa was furious at the discovery of this, and had gone on for several hours to anyone who would listen about how her ship was being dismantled right under her nose.

Byakuren had attempted to soothe her worries, but her words of comfort didn’t do much good, as Murasa seethed for several more hours until she eventually burnt herself out.

Murasa wasn’t the only one in a terrible mood, it seemed Seija’s return had a dramatic effect on all the temple’s residents.

Mamizou had begrudgingly apologized to Seija(‘s door) at Byakuren’s request, and had been sullen ever since. Not once had Mamizou’s ears lifted up from their drooped position flat on her head since her fight with Seija. Eventually, after two days, Mamizou disappeared all together. There were rumors she was mingling amongst humans to try to keep her mind off of the mess back at home, but this could neither be confirmed nor denied.

The day after Mamizou disappeared, Nue did as well. Nue, who had never liked Seija, seemed to have hoped that Seija would stay gone when she disappeared. When Seija returned, Nue seemed to be genuinely disappointed. She had managed to get by with Mamizou at her side for a few days, but the morning Mamizou didn’t come back seemed to be the final straw for her. Nue left as well, whether or not she sought out Mamizou was unclear, but she disappeared off the radar completely.

Ichirin was directly affected by Murasa’s mood, and in response Unzan was as well. Ichirin, who was normally quite cheerful, hung back along the sidelines, Unzan rumbling sadly at her shoulder. She had attempted to cheer up Murasa, but not even her efforts seemed to help, this only worsened her mood more. On the third day of this mess, Ichirin took up fasting as a way to distance herself from this situation. She positioned herself in a praying position in one of the offering rooms and sat there silently as she tried to clear her head of all of this. Unzan hung around her, his pink wispiness mingled with the light haze of the burning incense that surrounded the two. Out of politeness, he silenced his thundering rumbles to the rare grumble now and then, as to not distract Ichirin from her prayers.

Rather than distance herself from the situation like Ichirin, Shou fully immersed herself, which most definitely wasn’t the best for her nerves. Shou fretted over the others, checking on Ichirin and Unzan every few hours, and keeping track of what Murasa was grumbling about when she could. Every now and then, Shou’s blonde head would pop into whatever room Byakuren found herself in at the time, just to check up on her. Byakuren would offer a halfhearted assurance that she would be ok, and Shou begrudgingly accepted it before disappearing again to fret over someone else.

Nazrin seemed to be the only one above all this. She trotted after Shou, making sure the tigress was well, but aside from this, seemed to be perfectly comfortable with the situation. There were few things that affected Nazrin, and all of these were far apart. She took Shou’s worrying in stride, and seemed to have the most level head out of anyone in the temple.

Kyouko, on the other hand, couldn’t have taken Seija’s return worse. Upon hearing that Seija was back, Kyouko’s face lit up and her tail wagged wildly. But, all her attempts to speak with Seija were in vain. Seija refused to have anything to do with her, and this crushed her. Kyouko’s tail and ears hung down low as she struggled to accept this. Her eyes were distant and tired, a sight completely new to Byakuren.

Byakuren had attempted to talk to Kyouko about this, but for once in Kyouko’s life, it seemed Kyouko had nothing to say. Instead, Kyouko just slinked around the temple, tail between her legs, wearing a depressed expression as if all hope for the world was lost.

On the fifth day of this, Byakuren found herself standing outside of Seija’s room, once again, as she had found herself so many times in the past few days. Byakuren had been knocking for close to two entire minutes, but was met with no answer.

Byakuren bit the inside of her lip as she looked onto the closed door.

From inside, she could hear no movement whatsoever.

She moved her hand up, as if to knock again, but hesitated.

Instead of knocking, she moved her hand down and gave the door a small pull.

It was locked.

Byakuren frowned and cleared her throat.

“Dear.” Byakuren said slowly. “Seija, let me in.”

There was no response, as expected.

Byakuren gave the door another tug.

Still locked.

“I’m coming in.” Byakuren said.

She tugged again, unsurprisingly, the door was still locked.

Byakuren sighed and rested her forehead against the door.

She waited and listened.

Nothing.

Byakuren felt a lump forming in her throat, but managed to swallow it down.

The sound of approaching footsteps drew Byakuren out of her thoughts.

She glanced over to see Kyouko rounding the corner, looking as down as ever.

Kyouko and Byakuren met eyes for a long moment.

Byakuren realized she was still leaning against Seija’s door, and straightened herself up.

Kyouko watched her as she did this, and tightened her lips.

Byakuren’s eyes frowned, but her mouth smiled.

“Hello, my child.” Byakuren said slowly.

Kyouko simply nodded.

Byakuren realized Kyouko had stopped in her tracks. She watched her curiously.

“Need something?” Byakuren asked.

Kyouko shook her head and lowered her eyes.

Byakuren remained silent at this.

Kyouko twiddled her fingers in front of her, and glanced up at Byakuren.

A tense silence filled the hallway.

Byakuren vaguely wondered if Kyouko had ever looked that old to her before.

Finally, Kyouko spoke to break the silence.

Kyouko glanced over at Seija’s door, and as quietly as Kyouko’s quiet is asked, “She won’t let you in either?”

Byakuren’s eyes frowned more. She shook her head.

“No.” Byakuren said.

Kyouko nodded and lowered her gaze again.

“Were you here to try to talk to her too?” Byakuren asked.

Kyouko hesitated, then nodded.

Byakuren slowly made her way over to her and placed a hand on Kyouko’s shoulder.

“She might… just need time, dear.” Byakuren said.

Kyouko nodded, but did not say anything.

“It’s nothing against you.” Byakuren said, “Seija is just… she needs her space. She must be going through a lot…”

“I know…” Kyouko said as she shifted her weight onto her other foot. Kyouko’s voice echoed off the hallway’s walls.

Byakuren glanced back at Seija’s door, then again at Kyouko.

“Let’s sit down and talk about this, ok?” Byakuren suggested.

Kyouko shrugged.

Byakuren gave her the best smile she could muster, then led her down the hallway out into the nearest sitting room.

This sitting room was familiar to her, although Byakuren didn’t often frequent this part of the temple, just a few weeks ago, both Seija and herself had sat in here to view Kyouko’s mini performance the night before she took the stage at the festival.

Byakuren sat down on one of the overstuffed brown couches, and patted the seat next to her, silently offering Kyouko to join her.

Kyouko plopped down next to her, and folded her legs underneath her tiny body as she leaned back against the back of the couch. Her head lolled back as she stared up at the ceiling. She let out a very loud sigh.

Byakuren watched her as she did this, and patted the girl’s leg.

“I’m sorry. I know this must be hard for you.” Byakuren said.

Kyouko nodded, but said nothing.

A moment of silence filled the air as neither Byakuren nor Kyouko knew how to proceed with this conversation.

Byakuren decided she had to be the one to keep it going.

“Seija… must be going through more than we could ever know. There’s a possibility that she may not be an amanojaku anymore… I can scarcely imagine what that must be like…” Byakuren said. “And you and I both know Seija has always been… prickly and a bit hard to get close to… I imagine this is just how she needs to handle this.”

Kyouko remained silent as she let these words soak in. Her eyes scanned along the ceiling as the cogs in her brain worked.

“But,” Kyouko began, “We’re her family…”

Byakuren gave Kyouko a sad smile.

“Indeed we are, but that won’t change who she is and how she reacts to stress.”

“Doesn’t she trust us?” Kyouko asked.

“I’m not entirely sure.” Byakuren said. “Lately…” Byakuren’s voice dropped a little, “I feel as though she’s just pushing me away… I want her to trust me with this, but I don’t know if she can. I don’t know if she ever learned how to do that.”

“Trust someone?” Kyouko blinked.

Byakuren nodded.

“But,” Kyouko shifted a bit, “She must have had friends she’s trusted… We… we can’t be her only friends, right? Everyone has friends… I have friends outside of my family… I have Mystie and I have Chen...”

Byakuren propped her elbow up against the back of the couch and rested the side of her face in her hand.

“I don’t know, Kyouko… Amanojakus… well, many people don’t like them…” Byakuren admitted. “Many people are prejudiced against them… even youkai…”

Kyouko’s brow furrowed.

“That’s stupid.” Kyouko said.

Byakuren smiled.

“You’re an unusually kind girl, Kyouko. Many people do not possess the empathy and understanding that you do.”

Kyouko turned and gave Byakuren a wide smile, her first one in days.

“Learned it from you.”

Byakuren chuckled.

“Sweet child…” Was all Byakuren managed to say.

Kyouko’s smile fell and she looked up towards the ceiling again.

“But, I mean… she must have trusted someone once in her life… Right? Can’t she do it again?” Kyouko glanced back at Byakuren.

Byakuren blinked at her.

“I’m not sure…” Byakuren sighed, then, her brow furrowed with thought. “You know…” Byakuren began, “You might be onto something with this… Seija might have had friends in the past… maybe we could ask them what her relationship with them was like… so we can know how to get past this wall she’s put up.”

“Do you think that’d work?” Kyouko asked.

“It just might.” Byakuren frowned. “I think as of right now, that’s all we really have to work on…”

“But, she never mentioned any other friends…” Kyouko said.

Byakuren nodded and cast her eyes down as she struggled to recall Seija even mentioning any acquaintances.

“This is true…” Byakuren sighed after her memories came up blank.

“I guess people really don’t like her.” Kyouko said.

“Someone must have in the past… She did start all that trouble a while ago… Most incidents aren’t just started by a single person, correct…?” Byakuren suggested. “She must have had some type of… accomplices, right?”

“I dunno, when that bird ate the sun, she did it all on her own.” Kyouko shrugged.

“No, no, remember, Miss Yasaka helped with that.”

“Oh, right… well…” Kyouko shrugged. “I dunno, whatever trouble Seija started was ended pretty quickly, right? Oh! But those tsukumogamis that Mamizou’s interested in… weren’t a bunch of them brought to life when Seija started acting up?”

Byakuren thought for a few moments as she took in Kyouko’s words.

“But, I don’t really think they’re friends… more of just…” Byakuren shrugged, “I’m not sure, I don’t know what anyone is to Seija… I’m starting to doubt what I am to her…”

Kyouko frowned and took Byakuren’s hand.

Byakuren gave her a small smile as she squeezed Kyouko’s hand back.

“Too bad Miss Mamizou isn’t here, or I would ask her about those tsukumogamis…”

Kyouko nodded and let out a loud sigh. “Yeah…”

A moment of silence drifted over the conversation as the pair was left to consider the situation.

After some time, Byakuren glanced over at Kyouko.

“I think I know someone who definitely knows Seija.” Byakuren said at last.

Kyouko looked over at her expectantly.

“Who?” Kyouko asked.

“Miss Reimu…” Byakuren said quietly.

Kyouko raised her eyebrows.

“I don’t think they’re friends, mom…” Kyouko said unsurely.

Byakuren nodded, and said, “Of course they’re not… But Miss Reimu was directly involved in the trouble that Seija caused… She’ll know who was working with her, won’t she?”

Kyouko nodded. Her ears bounced with the motion.

“I guess… But do you really think she’ll tell you that?”

“Do you think it would seem suspicious if I asked her for that information?” Byakuren frowned.

“Dunno, maybe?” Kyouko shrugged.

Byakuren frowned and shifted a bit in her seat.

“The last thing I want to do is make her mad at me…” Byakuren frowned.

Kyouko looked up at her, but did not say anything.

Byakuren took this as a sign that the conversation was drawing to a close.

Byakuren got to her feet and adjusted her robes a little.

Kyouko looked up at her curiously.

“You’re going now?” Kyouko asked.

Byakuren hesitated for a bit, then nodded.

“Better sooner rather than later… Will you be ok without me?” Byakuren asked.

Kyouko nodded.

“Mhm…”

“Good.” Byakuren said as she patted Kyouko on the top of her head.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Byakuren said with a small smile.

Kyouko did not smile back.

“Don’t get beat up by her.” Kyouko said.

Byakuren felt something squirm in her stomach.

“I’ll do my best.”

 

* * *

 

Byakuren found herself making her way up the front steps of the Hakurei Shrine.

Her insides twisted and coiled inside her as she looked up onto the old wooden building.

Her boots clacked against the stone steps, she had to take special precaution as to not slip as they were coated in a thin layer of ice. Once or twice, her heel would slide out from under her, causing for quite the startle, but she managed to steady herself  easily enough.

Sooner rather than later, Byakuren found herself face to face with the front door.

Byakuren scanned her eyes along the front of the shrine, looking for any signs of Reimu, but there were none. She frowned.

Byakuren knocked.

The sound carried far in the cold air, she heard it echo off the trees nearby.

A few moments later, she heard footsteps inside drawing near.

Byakuren straightened herself up and waited.

A few moments later, the door opened, revealing a very disgruntled Reimu in it’s frame.

Reimu’s tired eyes blinked up at Byakuren through her eyelashes.

Byakuren offered her a smile back.

“Good day, Miss Reimu.” Byakuren said with a smile. She gave Reimu a bow.

Reimu simply sighed and beckoned her inside.

Byakuren hesitantly stepped forward into the shrine.

Reimu only waited a fraction of a moment after Byakuren was inside to close the door roughly behind her.

Byakuren flinched at the noise it made.

Reimu just shook her head, turned her back to Byakuren, and headed back into the shrine.

“You can leave your shoes on if you really want.” Reimu called back over her shoulder. “I’m getting the floors done today so I won’t be the one cleaning them so I don’t care.”

Byakuren blinked down at her boots. She noticed the wooden floor was badly damaged with what looked like some type of claw marks. Long trails of lightened scraped up wood surrounded her. Byakuren glanced up at Reimu curiously, but Reimu still didn’t look back at her.

Reimu disappeared behind a corner, Byakuren rushed forward after her.

“Your floors…” Byakuren said. She glanced down again, whoever had been walking must have had a bad habit of dragging their feet.

“It was some stupid youkai.” Reimu grumbled under her breath. “If you’re gonna have your claws out like that, at least keep your talons trimmed.”

Byakuren realized Reimu had led her into a sitting room. From where she was, she could see the kitchen. Reimu had a kettle on the stove that was whistling very angrily.

“Sit.” Reimu said as she continued on forward into the kitchen.

Byakuren did as she was told, and had a seat at the low table in the center of the room. She noticed the claw marks were more prevalent in this room. Whoever it had been that had marked up the floors so badly must have sat down for a cup of tea.

Reimu’s voice drew Byakuren out of her thoughts.

“Want some tea?” Reimu called from within the kitchen.

“Yes, if it’s no bother, thank you!” Byakuren called back.

From within the other room, Byakuren could hear the distinct clinking of teacups against saucers.

“Want sugar?” Reimu’s voice called again.

“No thank you!” Was Byakuren’s reply.

A moment later, Reimu appeared back in the room, toting two cups of steaming tea.

She placed one in front of Byakuren, and one in front of herself.

Reimu seated herself across from Byakuren, and immediately took a long sip from her cup.

Byakuren glanced down at the tea in front of her. It smelled earthy and gingery. The liquid inside the glass was a mossy yellow. Byakuren recognized this to be the green tea Reimu often drank while in her presence. It was a bit bitter, but Reimu seemed to be a big fan of it.

Byakuren glanced up at Reimu and offered her a smile.

Reimu placed her teacup back down and looked flatly back at her.

“So, what do you want?” Reimu asked.

Byakuren’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second.

“Well,” Byakuren began, “I was going to ask…”

Reimu sighed and leaned back a bit. She propped herself up on her arm.

“Great…” Reimu grumbled.

Byakuren frowned and said, “If this is a bad time…”

“No, no,” Reimu shook her head, “Just make it quick. I don’t got all day to do favors.”

“Well…” Byakuren began again, “I was wondering, well… You were the one who put a stop to Seija’s… trouble making in the past were you not?” Byakuren asked.

Reimu blinked up at her.

“She’s causing trouble again?”

“No, no.” Byakuren shook her head, “It’s not that…”

“Good.” Reimu sighed.

“But you were indeed the one who addressed this?”

“Course I was.” Reimu sighed. “Who else would? Nobody else gets things done around here but me.”

Byakuren offered Reimu a polite yet uncomfortable smile in response to this.

Reimu just eyed her boredly and took another swig of her tea.

“So what are you getting at anyway?” Reimu asked.

Byakuren folded her hands in her lap and straightened up a bit.

“I was wondering, just who was Seija involved with when she caused all this trouble? She must have had an accomplice or some type of ally… Am I wrong?” Byakuren asked quietly.

Something in Reimu’s eyes changed at Byakuren’s words. She looked through Byakuren as if she were lost in thought.

“You’re not wrong.” Reimu said distractedly.

Byakuren frowned.

“Could you tell me who then?”

“Why do you wanna know?” Reimu adjusted her eyes to land on Byakuren’s face again. Her volume raised a bit.

“Well… Lately, Seija has been distant… I was hoping if I could talk to one of her old friends, so I could see how to get closer to her…”

Reimu grunted at Byakuren’s words and scratched at her chin.

“I dunno…” Reimu sighed.

Byakuren took a small sip of her tea before she continued,

“Miss Reimu, when we spoke about Seija being my responsibility some time back I took it to heart. I’ve accepted her as not only my responsibility, but also as my family. Something has been bothering her terribly, and I fear for her wellbeing. If there is someone who I can talk to to learn how to understand her better, I would appreciate it if you would point me in their direction. I only want the best for her. I only want to help her, but I fear without more insight I won’t be able to.”

Reimu sighed again and leaned back some more.

“Geez, Hijiri, you have really terrible taste in family…” Reimu said.

Byakuren merely frowned at her at this.

Reimu glanced up at Byakuren, her dark eyes softened a bit, a sight Byakuren was not accustomed to.

“But, I guess I’m not one to talk. You know Marisa… I’d bet she’s just as bad as Seija sometimes…” Reimu took a long sip of her tea, and placed the cup loudly down on the table. The tea inside sloshed dangerously against the cup’s brim.

Reimu straightened up a bit and leaned forward as she put her elbows on the table and pressed some of her weight against them.

“Fine.” Reimu said, “I’ll tell you. But I can’t guarantee she’ll want to talk much about Seija. They’re not exactly on friendly terms anymore.”

Byakuren’s eyes lit up, she gave Reimu a wide smile.

“Thank you, Miss Reimu!” Byakuren beamed.

Reimu waved it off.

“Whatever, whatever…” Reimu sighed. “Just promise you won’t pry at her too much, she’s still kinda sensitive about the topic.”

“I promise.” Byakuren said as she placed her hand over her heart.

Reimu nodded and folded her arms.

“Know the little one that stays with me?” Reimu began, “Shinmyoumaru, yeah, her and Seija used to be close.”

Byakuren blinked as she recalled that small girl she had seen when she had last visited Hakurei Shrine. She could vaguely remember that girl mentioning something about Seija.

“But, things went south for them.” Reimu sighed, “Course it was all Seija’s doing. But people like her aren’t exactly the kind that have friends.”

Byakuren frowned up at Reimu and asked, “What happened?”

“Ugh, do I gotta explain everything?” Reimu sighed.

“Well, you did tell me not to pry at Miss Shinmyoumaru, so anything you could clear up yourself would be of great help to me…”

“Ugh, fine.” Reimu rolled her eyes, “Ok, well, Shin and Seija were in cahoots during the whole Miracle Mallet fiasco. Seija got in real close with her, real close. Manipulated her. She’d planned it from the beginning. She was only using her for the mallet’s power. When Shin found out Seija had betrayed her she was crushed, and I mean crushed. I don’t often pity people, but I pitied Shin. So, out of the kindness of my heart, I took her in. And that little pest has been freeloading ever since.”

Byakuren gave Reimu a smile, “You’re a very kind person to do that, Miss Reimu.”

Reimu shook her head and waved it off before continuing, “Anyway, that’s why I was so iffy about her staying with you. I kinda thought maybe the reason she wanted to get in close with you was so she could use your power or influence to start shit again. It’s been awfully quiet over there though, and you’re saying she’s not letting you in… So I guess not.” Reimu said as she knocked her fist on the table. “But, knock on wood, don’t wanna jinx anything.”

Byakuren frowned in response.

Reimu simply shrugged.

“Oh, and that’s not even the worst of it. After the whole thing with the Miracle Mallet was finished Seija came crawling back to her. Wanted to start some more trouble. And know what? Shin actually forgave her. I mean, Shin’s got a soft spot for her, I guess, but that’s just plain stupid. What do they say? _Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me_.” Reimu downed the rest of her tea.

“And that went south too. Seija was the most wanted person in Gensokyo for quite some time. Luckily Shin was smart enough to know when to back out… Shin told Seija to turn herself in, but she wouldn’t, so Shin turned her back on her. Took her long enough too. I hope that’s the last time Shin has to get herself mixed up with that one.” Reimu said.

“Ah, so that was when she started with the thievery…” Byakuren said.

“Yeah,” Reimu nodded, “And if you hadn’t pardoned her, I swear, Yukari woulda put her 6 feet under. Yukari’s still furious, but I talked her out of homicide. _You’re welcome._ ”

“Thank you, Miss Reimu.” Byakuren said with a small bow.

Reimu acknowledged it, and waved it off.

“Yeah, yeah.” Reimu sighed, “But now whenever the subject of Seija comes up, Shin get’s all down. It really broke her little heart, ya know? I swear… Sometimes I think Shin actually _fell for her_... But don’t tell her I said that, she always denies it whenever I bring it up.”

“I will not mention it.” Byakuren nodded.

“Good.”

“Where is Miss Shinmyoumaru anyway?” Byakuren asked.

“Oh,” Reimu shrugged, “Out in back doing something. I dunno, I’m not her keeper.”

Byakuren straightened herself up a bit, Reimu eyed her as she did this.

“You want to talk to her right now?” Reimu asked slowly.

“Yes, if that is possible.” Byakuren nodded.

Reimu sighed and got to her feet.

Byakuren stood as well.

“Just don’t be all day.” Reimu said as she turned to leave the room.

Byakuren followed behind her.

“Of course. I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“And,” Reimu began, “Remember what I said about not pushing her too far about this. It’s touchy.”

“I wouldn’t dream of making her uncomfortable.”

“Good.” Reimu nodded.

Byakuren was led out of the kitchen and down a long straight hallway.

Here, she noticed that the claw marks on the floorboards were not present. The wooden boards seemed to have been spared by Reimu’s guest’s claws.

The trip was a short one, before long, Reimu led Byakuren out the back door.

Byakuren blinked in the bright grey light.

The sun shone through the long grey thin clouds in the sky. On the horizon, Byakuren could see the distant shapes of faeries at play in the sky.

A chilled wind blew against her and sent her dark robes billowing around her. The fabric rustled in the wind.

This noise caught the attention of Shinmyoumaru who had previously been sitting on the back porch overlooking the grounds ahead of her.

Shinmyoumaru turned her tiny head to look up at Reimu and Byakuren who were still standing in the doorway.

Shinmyoumaru couldn’t be more than four inches tall, she looked more like a doll than a person.

The pristinely made grey sleeves of the tsukesage she was wearing fluttered in the wind along with Byakuren’s kesa.

The tiny girl’s tiny eyes scanned Byakuren up and down, then landed on Reimu. She raised her eyebrows expectantly.

“Hijiri wants to talk to you.” Reimu said. “Oh, were you ever properly introduced? Shinmyoumaru, this is Hijiri of Myouren temple. Hijiri, this is Shinmyoumaru.” Reimu said.

“Lady Sukuna.” Shinmyoumaru’s tiny voice corrected Reimu.

“Shut up, ya runt.” Reimu said as she gave Shin a halfhearted shake of her fist.

Shinmyoumaru huffed and stuck her nose up in the air. She turned her back again to the pair in the doorway. Her lavender hime-cut swayed with the movement.

Byakuren frowned and took a step forward.

“If you would like, I could call you Lady Sukuna.” Byakuren said.

Shin glanced over her shoulder again, but only for an instant.

“Kay.” She said.

Byakuren smiled.

“May I have a word with you then?” Byakuren asked as she took another step forward.

Shin turned once again, and looked up at Reimu.

Reimu put her hands on her hips and frowned down at her.

“The monk wants to talk to you about Kijin.”

Shinmyoumaru’s eyes darkened. She frowned and turned her back to them again.

“I don’t want to talk about her.” Shin said quietly.

Reimu glanced at Byakuren and shrugged.

Byakuren frowned. She knitted her eyebrows together.

“Please, this is important. You may well be the only friend Seija has ever had, and-”

“We were never really friends.” Shin said over Byakuren.

Byakuren frowned.

“Please…” Byakuren said quietly.

Reimu sighed and moved forward. She took a seat next to Shin. The floorboards shook a little with her steps, Shin was slightly jostled by this, but it seemed she had experience in dealing with it, as she did not topple over.

“Come on, Shin.” Reimu’s voice softened a noticeable amount.

Byakuren blinked. She had never heard her speak that softly to anyone, not even Marisa. Quite the opposite actually, Reimu had a habit of raising her voice around the witch.

“Don’t wanna.” Shin said.

“If you want to be addressed as royalty then you gotta act like it, not like a kid. Be a good princess and hear her out. If you don’t I’m going to have to deal with her interrogating me for another two hours for more leads.”

“You belittle me, Reimu.” Shin said with a huff.

Reimu chuckled, “You don’t need me to be belittled, Shin, you’ve got that down pat.”

“Shut up, you big oaf! If you want me to help out your friends, don’t insult me first!” Shin grumbled.

Reimu chuckled some more and turned to Byakuren. She beckoned her over.

Byakuren unsurely stepped forward, and had a seat beside Shinmyoumaru on her other side.

Shin glanced up at her.

Byakuren looked down at her.

She really was tiny, even up close.

Shinmyoumaru’s purple eyes scanned over Byakuren’s face as she thought. Her tiny lips pouted with thought.

“So, whaddu want?” Shinmyoumaru asked at last.

Byakuren couldn't help but smiling at Shinmyoumaru's words. The small girl seemed to be struggling to maintain a formal tone around her. Not wanting to insult her, Byakuren hit her smile by looking away.

“Firstly, thank you for your time, Lady Sukuna.” Byakuren said.

Shinmyoumaru gave a sage nod.

“A princess must do charity work now and again.” Shinmyoumaru said.

Byakuren smiled wider.

“How kind of you… Well, what I came to you for was, well, as I said, you and Seija at one time were close…”

Shinmyoumaru’s face darkened at Seija’s name.

“ _Close._ ” She said as if it left a bad taste in her mouth.

“Yes…” Byakuren frowned. “So you must know her quite well, yes?”

“I never really knew her, I guess.” Shinmyoumaru said as she took her eyes off of Byakuren. She looked out in front of her. Her eyes glazed over as she let out a little sigh.

“Well… You’re the closest thing she’s had to a friend then… I’m coming to you for advice. Seija… well she has this wall up around her that I can’t seem to break through, and, I’m worried about her… lately she’s been struggling with something, and I think she needs help to get over it. But she won’t let me in. She just sits there suffering all by her lonesome.”

Shinmyoumaru’s expression didn’t change, Byakuren wondered if Shinmyoumaru had listened to her at all, but after a few minutes, she answered, “What’s she been struggling with?”

Byakuren frowned.

Reimu glanced up at Byakuren.

Byakuren looked at her, unsure of how to read Reimu’s face. She brought her gaze back down on Shinmyoumaru.

Byakuren took a deep breath, and explained everything she could about Seija. She talked of Seija’s time in the temple, and her progress and failures, and how much she loved her.

Shinmyoumaru looked up at Byakuren as she spoke, Reimu did not take her eyes off of Byakuren’s face the entire time.

Byakuren told them of Jirou’s arrow and Yagokoro’s theory. She told them of Seija’s disappearance then reappearance, earning a few smiles from both Reimu and Shinmyoumaru as she mentioned Seija’s loss with Mamizou, and quite a few more frowns from the pair as she told them of the state of Seija’s amanojaku nature.

Shinmyoumaru and Reimu only spoke if to ask a question here and there, but mostly remained silent and listened to Byakuren’s story.

When she finished, there was a long moment of silence as Shinmyoumaru and Reimu were left to process her words.

Finally, Shin spoke, “Well…” was all she managed to say.

“So, you understand my predicament.” Byakuren said.

“Yeah,” The small girl nodded, “Yeah, but… wow… You know, not even me and Seija… not even at our closest did she trust me that much…”

“I fear she doesn’t trust me at all…” Byakuren said weakly.

Shin shook her head, “No, she must. If she didn’t she wouldn’t have come back…”

Byakuren frowned, but nodded.

“So that little shit might not even be an amanojaku anymore?” Reimu asked in disbelief.

“Yes.” Byakuren said quietly.

“Damn…” Reimu blinked.

Byakuren only frowned at this.

Shin shifted and glanced up at her, “Well, you know, despite being hated for it, Seija loved being who she was… at least I think… I mean, she could have loved that she hated being who she was, or, I don’t know… She makes my head spin…” Shin sighed, “Nevermind…”

Byakuren nodded, “I feel like those confusing emotions must be what’s making her head spin as well.”

“Stupid amanojakus…” Shinmyoumaru sighed, “They’re all so topsy turvy.”

“Huh…” Reimu folded her arms.

Both Byakuren and Shinmyoumaru glanced over at Reimu.

“Hm?” Byakuren blinked.

Reimu’s eyes were filled with thought. It took her a bit to pull herself back to reality. She looked at Byakuren, eyes stern, and brow knitted.

“Hijiri.” Reimu said flatly.

“Yes?” Byakuren blinked.

“See those idiots over there?” Reimu nodded in the direction of the faeries still distantly zooming around each other on the horizon.

Byakuren blinked over at them, then brought her eyes back over to Reimu.

“Yes?”

“All the faeries have been acting up recently. Surely you know what that means.”

“The faeries…?” Byakuren frowned. Being secluded in a temple in the forest, she didn’t often see many faeries. But, she knew what rowdy faeries often meant. A surge in power. Few things stirred up enough energy to create such a wave of power, but one thing above all others always seemed to do the trick. An incident.

“You don’t think…” Byakuren said under her breath.

“But I do.” Reimu nodded, “Or at least I’m aware of the possibility. So, I’ve been looking into what might be causing it. Hijiri, what do you know of urban legends?”

Byakuren blinked, “Reimu, I’m confused… what does this have to do with Seija?”

“Answer me, Hijiri.” Reimu said.

“They’re children's’ tales…” Byakuren said unsurely, “Some are based around true happenings, but most are blown out of proportion.”

“You know, lately a bunch have been popping up. And quite a few from the outside world too.”

Byakuren simply listened to Reimu as she spoke.

“And I don’t know what’s causing them all to pop up… I kinda didn’t think anything of it, but while I was in town the other day I heard a group of children going on and on about some masked girl with no face. I completely forgot about it until I was on my way back… It was getting dark, so I couldn’t be sure, but I could have sworn that on the side of the road I saw a girl watching me, but her eyes weren’t moving as they followed me… I just hurried along home, because nothing really scares me anymore, but I dreamt about her, and I realized that those weren’t her real eyes I saw, she was wearing a mask.”

“Reimu, that could have been a coincidence…”

“I know,” Reimu said, “But it was off putting… Like she just appeared there out of nowhere… And ever since then, I dunno, weird stuff has been popping up. And I was thinking, you know that magic carpet Marisa snagged, what if that was something that just popped up like that girl did too… I’ve always heard stories about magic carpets… And then one just pops up out of the blue?”

Reimu leaned a bit closer to Byakuren, her eyes became more intense.

“I get that forgotten stuff ends up here, but who would forget about a magic carpet?” Reimu asked as she raised her eyebrow.

Byakuren frowned and looked down at her hands in her lap. Her eyes drifted along the palms of her hands.

“I don’t understand what you’re getting at Reimu.”

“I’m saying that these children's stories are becoming true… or they might be… So I looked into it…”

“And what did you find?” Byakuren asked without looking up.

“Well, I was considering, what could make this happen? It seems that the faeries are becoming rowdier and rowdier by the day, so the energy just must keep growing, right? So whoevers doing it must be still doing it… I feel like they’re just getting ready for something. For what, I don’t know, but they are…”

From in the distance, the light giggling of the faeries carried over.

“But who could have such power to make the false become true? That’s what I started asking myself.” Reimu said as she glanced over at the faeries. “And… I got to thinking… And you came to mind, Hijiri. You and that trouble child of yours. Who’s better at dealing with falsities than amanojakus? I don’t know of anyone else better fitted to it.”

Byakuren looked up at Reimu.

“You think this has something to do with Seija?” Byakuren frowned.

Reimu shook her head.

“Seija’s not strong enough to do something like this. She had to rely on Shin to start that incident. She talks tough, but she’s weak… No way she could…” Reimu glanced up at the clouds overhead, “So I started looking into just what exactly an amanojaku can do… I was wondering if there have ever been any strong ones, or if they’re all just weaklings… Supposedly all of them are pretty weak... But, well, there is this one person that caught my interest.” Reimu sighed and folded her arms.

“And who was it?” Byakuren asked.

“Do you know how amanojakus were created?” Reimu asked distantly.

Byakuren frowned.

“Created?”

“Not all races are here naturally, you know this… You made yourself youkai with magic… There are plenty of other youkais that are only who they are because of an outside force.” Reimu said.

Byakuren only nodded.

“The first amanojaku’s were created by some goddess…” Reimu shrugged, “Kinda a fuzzy subject for me. Not everything was clear. Made it kind of sound like they were an accident or something. But a goddess created them and here they are.”

Byakuren looked over at Reimu expectantly.

“She’s supposed to be a moon goddess, or at least from the moon. Gods, I hate dealing with Lunarians… Kishin Sagume is her name.” Reimu glanced over at Byakuren, “Do you see where I’m going with this?”

Byakuren shook her head.

“I’m completely lost.” Byakuren admitted.

“Who’d know an amanojaku better than the person who created them?” Reimu suggested.

Byakuren gaped, “Are you… suggesting….”

“Yeah,” Reimu said, “Go to the capital. Ask her what Seija is to put her twisted little heart at ease.”

“I can’t just… go to the moon…” Byakuren frowned. “There are barriers and…” Her mind was racing with a million thoughts at once that she could not adequately put into words.

“I know,” Reimu shrugged, “But, I was thinking, if you go to Bhava-Agra, you might be able to push through the weak point to push yourself right up to the moon…”

Both Shinmyoumaru and Byakuren gaped at Reimu.

Reimu blinked at them.

“What? I mean, I’ve put a bit of thought into this… If there really is an incident starting up there, I’ll have to go up there sooner or later to put a stop to it. I had to think about how to get there.” Reimu frowned.

“You really want… me to go to the moon?” Byakuren frowned, “This seems like exactly the kind of thing you would be against…”

Reimu’s frown cracked into a small smile, “See, it is… but I have incentive for telling you all this.”

“And what is that?” Byakuren frowned.

“Go up there, get things settled with your problem child, and find out if it really is Kishin who’s starting this mess down here.”

“....You want me to scout out the situation before you yourself have to commit to dealing with it?” Byakuren frowned.

Reimu smiled a bit more, “Yeah. I mean, it’s the least you can do. I gave you all this information just so you can help Seija. The least you can do is tell me if Kishin really is the culprit.”

Byakuren nodded slowly, and said, “You are right…”

“So, you’ll do it?” Reimu asked.

Byakuren glanced over at Reimu. She bit the inside of her lip, and thought for a long moment as she mulled over the situation. Finally, after quite a bit, Byakuren nodded.

“I will.”

 

* * *

 

 

_AN: HEY so, yeah, sorry I know this is a week late, I'm the worst and it took me longer than I thought it would to get back into the swing of things after that break_

_So, sorry, yeah, sorry_

_BUt thanks for being patient!_

_Shout outs to the usual bunch: Purvis, Chris, Aaron, Noe, Elly, and you [ winks ]_

_Might actually finally finally be nearing the end? Remember that time I said I'd be finished in December? Man what a joke that was, right?_

_Anyway, thanks for your support, means a lot <3 _

_Thanks_


	11. Part 11

Byakuren found herself, as she had many times before, standing in front of Seija’s closed doorway.

The hallway was quiet save for the sounds of her own breathing.

The dim light around her made her already tired eyes strain more as she looked upon the screen door.

Through the nearly opaque paper, she could barely see the faint outline of the window across Seija’s room. The last light of the day was pouring in through it, and soaking through the screen that kept Byakuren out.

Byakuren looked at the faint orange sunlight, or more of looked for shapes in it. Her eyes strained as she tried to catch sight of Seija’s silhouette, but could not.

Byakuren sighed, and knocked.

As all her attempts before, there was no response.

“Seija,” Byakuren said. Her throat was dry.

Silence was the reply.

“Seija, I need to have a word with you.” Byakuren said. “It’s important.”

Byakuren’s voice echoed slightly off the empty hallway around her, but Seija’s voice did not.

“I understand that you need your space… But there has to be exceptions here and there… I have information that can help you…” Byakuren pleaded.

She wrung her hands together.

“Seija, let me help you…”

Still nothing.

Byakuren sighed.

Silence filled the air. She was beginning to wonder if Seija was even home.

“...I don’t need your help.” Was the reply from the other side of the door.

Byakuren gaped. It had been days since she had heard Seija’s voice.

“Seija, let me talk to you.” Byakuren pleaded, a little too excitedly.

“Leave.” Seija grunted from the other side of the door.

Byakuren heard sheets rustling from inside as if Seija had rolled over in her futon.

“I will not. Seija, this is important. Let me in.” Byakuren said. She placed her hand on the door, and gave it a pull, but as always, it was locked.

“I said leave!” Seija raised her voice quite a bit.

“I won’t!” Byakuren’s voice raised along with Seija’s.

“FUCK OFF!” Seija roared.

“No! Let me help you!”

“I DON’T NEED YOUR HELP!”

“Seija, please!”

“NO!”

There was another rustling sound from within as Seija sat up.

“Seija, I’m not leaving.” Byakuren said firmly.

“THEN **I** **AM**!” There was the sound of Seija getting up to her feet.

Byakuren saw her form block out the light from the window.

Byakuren felt her heart hammering in her chest.

“Seija Kijin, you will not!” Byakuren tried to keep her voice firm, but it wavered.

“YOU DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO, MOMK-!” Seija’s last word cut off a little too abruptly as if she had quickly shut her mouth.

The movement in the room stopped. Byakuren could still see Seija’s figure standing by the window.

Suddenly a wave of silence swept over the conversation.

Byakuren felt her ears ringing with the sudden change.

Her chest hurt as she tried to control her breathing.

She could hear Seija panting from within the other room.

Byakuren bit at the inside of her lip.

Seija remained unmoving.

Finally, Byakuren said, “...Please…” so quietly she wasn’t entirely sure if Seija had heard at all.

There was another beat of silence, then Seija’s figure moved.

Her figure drew nearer towards the door.

There was a _click_ as the door was unlocked, then a _bang_ as Seija slammed it open.

Seija stood in its frame, shoulders heaving with her heavy breaths. Her cheeks were flushed and her hair was messy.

She glared up at Byakuren with her tired darkened eyes.

“ **What?** ” Seija asked thickly through her gritted sharp teeth.

Byakuren blinked down at her quietly for a few moments, then said, “We need to talk.”

Seija let these words sink in as her tense form relaxed a little. She continued to glare up at Byakuren.

“Well? _Talk_.” Seija’s voice was still cold and uninviting.

“Can I come in first?” Byakuren asked quietly.

Seija sucked in a breath of air aggravatedly, then blew it out in an equally frustrated sigh. She took a step back, and stiffly motioned for Byakuren to enter.

Byakuren stepped inside quietly. She hunched her shoulders a bit, to make her large form a bit smaller.

Seija put her hands on her hips to make her small form larger. She cocked her head back and eyed Byakuren.

Byakuren glanced around the room. It was messier than she remembered leaving it, those clothes she had folded were thrown across the floor. Seija’s futon was unmade, and one of her pillows was thrown to the foot of the futon for some reason.

As Byakuren was taking in her surroundings, Seija slammed the door shut behind her.

Byakuren flinched and swung around.

Seija just looked at her expectantly.

“You gonna talk or what, monk?” Seija said as she moved back over to her futon. She plopped down onto it, and wrapped the quilt around her shoulders.

Byakuren moved over towards the futon’s side, and knelt down beside it.

Seija eyed her cautiously.

Byakuren gave her a weak smile in return.

“Good to see you again…” Byakuren said.

Seija only huffed.

Byakuren’s smile became a bit more genuine. She folded her hands in her lap.

“We have much to talk about. But first, I need to know, how are you?”

“Never better.” Seija replied as flatly as she did quickly.

Byakuren felt her gut begin to squirm. She took in a deep breath to calm herself.

“How has your wound healed, my sweet child?” Byakuren asked.

“There never was a wound.” Was Seija’s reply.

Byakuren frowned and looked at the spot on Seija’s chest where she had taken the arrow. Unsurprisingly to her, she noted it did not look to be bandaged up under her top.

“Ah…” Was all Byakuren managed to say.

Seija simply folded her arms.

“And… how are you feeling emotionally?” Byakuren asked quietly.

Seija eyed her for a long moment. Her crimson eyes scanned across Byakuren’s face. One of her eyebrows twitched a little.

“Peachy.” Seija said.

Byakuren nodded.

“I apologize… If there is anything I can do to help alleviate your stress or physical pain, do not hesitate to ask me. I hope you feel better…” Byakuren said.

Seija started gnawing on her bottom lip.

The window on the wall was becoming increasingly darker as the sun set.

Byakuren’s shadow slowly lengthened to cast over Seija’s body.

“Seija… I never had the opportunity to apologize... You took that arrow for me… I’m so sorry that that happened…”

“I didn’t take the arrow for you.” Seija sneered. “That idiot archer’s as blind as he is thick. Couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn.” Despite Seija’s words, her cheeks tinted a little with a light blush.

“You may well have saved my life.” Byakuren gave Seija a low bow. “I cannot thank you enough for this.”

“Shut up will ya, monk?” Seija grunted and averted her gaze.

Byakuren sat up straight and scooted a bit closer to her.

Seija eyed her and leaned back a little.

“If it makes you uncomfortable, I will not bring it up again. But just know you have my gratitude, dear child.” Byakuren said.

Seija only shifted.

“And… with what has happened with… your race…” Byakuren said slowly.

Seija’s head snapped in her direction. Her eyes were like ice.

“Don’t you ever shut up?” She hissed.

“We did sit down to talk, Seija…” Byakuren said with a small apologetic smile.

Seija bit at her lip.

“I apologize for that as well… Have you… noticed any changes? Does anything feel different? Different as if something inside you has changed?” Byakuren asked.

Seija glared at her. She bit down even harder on her lip. A small bead of blood formed.

Byakuren frowned at it and took out her handkerchief. She scooted forward and handed the cloth to Seija.

Seija grunted and took it.

To Byakuren’s surprise, she wiped at her mouth. She tossed the cloth aside and averted her gaze again.

Seija’s cheeks turned even more red. She grumbled.

“Don’t hurt yourself, dear…” Byakuren said as she looked down at her now stained handkerchief.

“Shove off.” Seija said.

“Back to our conversation… Any changes?” Byakuren asked slowly.

Seija didn’t respond. She simply unfolded her arms. Her palms lay relaxed and face up in her lap.

Byakuren took Seija’s hands in her own.

Seija glared at her, but didn’t pull them back.

Byakuren gave Seija’s hands a light squeeze. They were small and calloused and stayed limp in her hands.

“Please, Seija… tell me… I only want to help you. You know this… I hope…” Byakuren said in all but a whisper.

Seija took in a deep breath and swallowed. She nodded.

Byakuren tilted her head and gave Seija a small smile.

“I love you very much, my child.” Byakuren said softly. She lightly squeezed Seija’s hands, “Please tell me if there have been any changes…”

Seija huffed and lowered her gaze down to their hands.

“You think… I would’ve let that tanuki whoop me so badly if I’d have been at my best?” Seija whispered.

Byakuren frowned.

“You did seem to be struggling…” Byakuren admitted.

Seija cast a glare up at Byakuren through her eyelashes for a fraction of a second before lowering her eyes once again to her hands.

“I…” Seija sighed, “I mean, there’s no way she would have been able to win so easily if I could still…” Seija’s words tapered off into incoherent mumbles.

“Hm? Speak up, sweetie.” Byakuren said quietly as she gave Seija’s hands a squeeze.

“I woulda turned her on her head if I coulda…” Seija bit at her lip again.

Byakuren frowned.

“Oh… are you saying…”

Seija didn’t look up at Byakuren’s words.

“You can’t… reverse things anymore?” Byakuren asked quietly.

Seija swallowed hard. Her hands tensed in Byakuren’s.

“Oh…” Byakuren breathed. “My child…”

Seija let her head droop down a bit.

“I’m so sorry…” Byakuren said. “That’s terrible.”

“Just shut up already…” Seija’s voice didn’t even come out halfhearted.

Byakuren frowned.

The sun now was below the horizon, the last of its rays were all that were left to light the room now.

The conversation faded off as Byakuren was left to process this information.

It took her several minutes to let it sink in before she could speak again.

The entire time, Seija kept her head low and hands relaxed.

Finally, after quite some time, Byakuren spoke.

“Seija, earlier today I went to Hakurei Shrine.” She said.

Seija glanced up. Her exhausted eyes flashed with with a bit of curiosity.

“I wanted to know if you had any friends I could speak to… If they could give me any advice on how to get you to let me in… But I stumbled upon very interesting information while I was there.” Byakuren said as she watched Seija’s expression change as she listened.

“Do you know who Kishin Sagume is?” Byakuren asked.

Seija blinked and shook her head.

“She is a Lunarian goddess who is responsible for the creation of the first amanojakus.” Byakuren said.

Seija’s brow furrowed at her words.

“Reimu suggested… Well, I know this seems a bit outlandish, but she suggested we go speak with her about this since this, after all, is her specialty... She might be able to tell us what is happening with you… And she might be able to help you regain your powers.” Byakuren said.

“She’s gonna tell me what I am now?” Seija asked. Her voice was uncharacteristically soft.

Byakuren nodded and said, “Hopefully she will have that ability, yes.”

Seija blinked and looked down at her hands again.

“Oh…” She said quietly.

Byakuren frowned.

Seija’s face had softened quite a bit, she seemed to be lost in thought.

“Is… is not knowing what you are now troubling you?” Byakuren asked quietly.

Seija only glanced up at her. Her red eyes glinted in the little remaining sunlight.

Byakuren took that answer as a yes.

“I want to help you, Seija. I want you to be happy, and I want you to no longer be troubled by this. I cannot even hope to completely understand what you’re going through… But I want to help if you will let me.”

Seija glanced up at her, brow furrowed, and lips tight.

Byakuren gave her a warm smile back.

“What are your thoughts on this?” Byakuren asked softly.

Seija thought for a few seconds as she considered her response, then said, “Well, since this shitty lead is the only thing you’ve managed to get…” Her words trailed off.

Byakuren ran her thumbs over Seija’s dry palms.

“Seija, dear child, just say the word and we can start packing for this trip immediately.” Byakuren said.

Seija eyed her, lower lip quivering and brows still tightly knitted together.

“...Whatever…” Seija sighed.

Byakuren smiled and said, “If you wanted, we could leave tomorrow morning even... dear.” Byakuren said.

Seija just blinked up at her, her eyes were slightly glazed over and seemed to have trouble focusing on Byakuren.

Byakuren’s smile faltered, but only for a second. She scooted a bit closer to Seija.

This seemed to bring Seija out of her thoughts, as she flinched back.

“No worries, my child.” Byakuren said as she let go of Seija’s hands.

Seija glanced down at her palms, but quickly brought her attention to Byakuren’s hands instead as they moved upwards.

Byakuren brought her hands to Seija’s face and cupped at her cheeks.

Seija sputtered and would have roughly pulled herself out of Byakuren’s touch if she hadn’t been frozen with shock.

“Wh-WHAT ARE YOU-!?” Seija’s voice cracked.

Byakuren felt Seija’s cheeks heat up.

“Seija.” Byakuren said as firmly as she did softly.

Seija blinked up at her.

Byakuren ran her thumb along Seija’s cheek.

“I know you’ve been going through a lot. I know that this has taken it’s toll on you. But I want you to remember you’re not alone in this. You have me, and you have the temple. We’re here to help you. That’s what family is for.” Byakuren said.

Seija gnawed at her bottom lip and swallowed hard.

“And,” Byakuren continued, “I want you to know that you are loved. So so much. I love you, and I want to help you. But I need you to use your words so I can understand how to do so. Would you like to meet with Miss Kishin?”

“W-whatever!” Seija said weakly, “Fine!”

Byakuren smiled and moved her hands down to Seija’s small shoulders.

“I want you to pack tonight then. We’re going to go up Youkai Mountain to Bhava-Agra then try to push through up to the Lunarian capital.” Byakuren said.

Seija weakly nodded at this, she seemed more than a little relieved that Byakuren had taken her hands off of her face.

“And, Seija,” Byakuren began, “I want you to know, even if this doesn’t work out for one reason or another, it’s not the end of the world. We’ll find another lead somewhere and work off of that.” Byakuren said.

Seija’s face turned unreadable at these words.

“Plus,” Byakuren smiled a wide genuine smile, “You’re still Seija, you know… Amanojaku or not, you’re still Seija. That should be what matters.” Byakuren said.

Seija cast her eyes off to the side.

“And, I love you, Seija. I’m proud of who you are now.” Byakuren leaned forward as she lightly pulled Seija towards her.

Before Seija had time to understand what was happening, Byakuren had pulled her into her arms. Byakuren wrapped her arms around Seija and held her in a tight hug.

Seija squawked, her cheeks burned.

“Stupid- idiot- monk!” Seija brought her hands up and lamely shoved Byakuren away.

Byakuren chuckled and pulled back.

“I needed that.” Byakuren said. “Forgive my intrusion.” Byakuren slowly started getting up to her feet.

Seija watched her as she did so, cheeks as red as cherries.

Byakuren smiled down at her, and said, “Pack. I’ll wake you up early in the morning. We’ll have a good breakfast then head out. Try to get some rest.”

Seija merely pouted at these words.

Byakuren smiled some more, and made her way to the door. She glanced back over her shoulder at Seija one last time before exiting the room and closing the door behind her.

Seija stared after Byakuren as she left, heart pounding in her ears. She wondered if someone could die from embarrassment.

 

* * *

 

Byakuren woke up to the sound of birdsong outside.

The dawn’s peachy light poured in from her window.

Byakuren’s multicolored hair was flared out over her pillow, her white blanket was pulled up to her shoulders.

She opened her tired eyes and let out a long yawn.

She rolled onto her back, and stretched out her hands above her head.

Byakuren quickly realized she was quite stiff. Her back ached a little as she stretched it out.

This came as no surprise to her, the previous night had been a busy one.

After she had spoken with Seija, she had informed the rest of the temple about the trip she would be taking.

The response came back mixed, most were worried, some were surprised.

Nazrin, as always, seemed to be the only one above this mess, she was the only one not affected by Byakuren’s announcement. The small girl simply gave a shrug and thumbs up when Byakuren told her.

Meanwhile, both Shou and Murasa switched into panic mode and began fretting over this and that.

Ichirin, who was on her second to last day of fasting, was too exhausted to worry about this. Instead, she just seemed startled that Byakuren intended on going up to heaven, and through her lightheaded incoherent thoughts, asked Byakuren if she intended on reaching Nirvana while she was up there.

Kyouko had taken the news well at first. But this calmness didn’t last long. Murasa mentioned something along the lines of “Mom is going to be gone for days!”, and this apparently set something off in Kyouko, and she was reduced to a teary sniffly mess. Byakuren had to dedicate two hours of her night to calming the crying Yamabiko, which was not an easy task. When she finally managed to tuck Kyouko in for the night, she was almost positive she had lost a bit of her hearing from taking the blunt force of Kyouko’s wails.

Neither Mamizou nor Nue had returned yet, so Byakuren was not able to tell them about her trip. This was a bit of a relief to her, as she was almost positive that if they had been around to hear this, Mamizou would have most definitely insisted on Byakuren bringing her back some of Bhava-Agra’s renowned peach sake, and Byakuren wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of being seen purchasing alcohol. Rumors would spread.

After letting everyone know, Byakuren began packing. She wasn’t exactly sure how long this trek would take. Byakuren assumed that if they moved quickly enough, they could make it to Youkai Mountain and make it at least partially up it in one day. If need be, they could travel up to the top during the night. Then, the next day, they could worry about moving through Bhava-Agra up to the moon.

Byakuren had personally never been up to the moon, so she had no idea how long it would take to reach it, but didn’t Reimu and a few other people head up there not too far back when Eientei had started that incident. Byakuren had been sealed in Makai at the time, but based on what she had heard, it couldn't have taken very long to reach it if the incident was solved so quickly, right?

Byakuren decided to pack a weeks worth of supplies just to be safe.

This, of course, including food, water, clothes, blankets, pillows, cooking supplies, a tent, her wallet, extra food, extra clothes, extra blankets, and a few books in the event she needed to pass the time.

By the time all her packing was finished, she was grateful she was no longer as weak as a human anymore, she would need to use her strength to tote all the luggage around.

By the time she tucked herself into bed, a good portion of her room was taken up by the bulky luggage.

When she awoke, she was caught a little off guard by this, but thoughts of last night quickly rushed back to her.

She yawned and sat up in her futon as she overlooked the bags in front of her.

She hoped Seija had packed last night, and hadn’t forgotten…

Byakuren pulled herself out of her warm futon and tucked it away.

She combed and tamed her unruly hair, and got to work getting dressed.

Byakuren tugged on her black and white robes. Ordinarily, with this lighter outfit she would have worn her black and red cape, but she hadn’t seen it since she had loaned it to Seija. So, instead, she wrapped a long flowing dark plumb cape around her shoulders.

She donned her large green prayer beads around her neck, and wrapped a thinner wooden string of prayer beads along her arms and hands.

Byakuren then got to work carrying her luggage out to the front door.

It was a bit heavy for her, but she managed easily enough.

The sound of her moving around through the temple caused Kyouko to rise from her sleep.

Kyouko’s yawns carried through the hallways, waking up the remainder of the temple as well.

Byakuren hurried along to the kitchen to begin preparing breakfast before everyone woke up.

She started a kettle of water for tea, and began heating up a frying pan.

Today, she decided to make a hearty breakfast for extra energy for her trek, as well as in hopes that there would be leftovers for Ichirin that she could eat tomorrow after her last day of fasting.

Byakuren got to work preparing omurice and vegetables, and sausages for the rest of the temple.

Before long, the warm inviting smell of the food filled the air.

Slowly, one by one, the temple’s residents began to trickle into the dining room.

From behind her, Byakuren heard Murasa and Shou yawning both equally as loud.

Nazrin moved into the kitchen and got herself a glass of water with a small, “Hey, morning,” directed at Byakuren before she disappeared back into the other room.

Kyouko appeared at Byakuren’s side, and wrapped her arms around Byakuren’s waist.

The small girl let out a long loud yawn into Byakuren’s ribcage. Byakuren felt her body reverberating with the noise.

Byakuren glanced down at her and smiled.

“Good morning, dear.” Byakuren said warmly. She patted Kyouko on the head.

“Morning.” Kyouko said tiredly. “Do we have orange juice left?”

“Hm, we might.” Byakuren said. “If not, I know there’s milk.”

“Kay,” Kyouko released Byakuren, and moved over towards the icebox. She opened it and began rummaging through it.

“Find any?” Byakuren called over towards her.

“Mm…” Kyouko said as she took a small carton out, and closed the doors. She moved over to the counter and poured herself a glass before putting the carton away once again and disappearing back out into the dining room.

Byakuren reconcentrated back on preparing breakfast. She plated a few omurices, and checked on the sausages.

From behind her, she heard Kyouko’s voice say, “Morning, sister!” rather enthusiastically.

Byakuren glanced back over her shoulder to see Seija had come down for breakfast this morning.

She was dressed in a pair of light blue jeans and a striped purple and white top.

She met eyes with Byakuren, and glanced away abashedly.

Byakuren noticed she had pulled her hair back into a small messy ponytail, that was a first.

Byakuren gave her a smile, but Seija didn’t see as she seated herself with her back towards Byakuren.

Byakuren gave a light sigh and turned back to the food to finish cooking.

The kettle started whistling, Byakuren let the food continue to cook as she took out a few cups and began pouring the tea.

By the time she had finished, the rest of the food was ready to be taken off the heat, which she did.

A couple trips in and out of the kitchen later, the food had made its way out onto the table to the small hungry crowd waiting.

Byakuren took her usual seat and dug in, as did everyone else.

Breakfast passed quickly and quietly.

The air was slightly tense, as if they were all trying to ignore the elephant in the room.

This didn’t last long though, on Kyouko’s second helping of sausages she glanced over at Byakuren and asked, “So, you’re really going to the moon?”

Byakuren, who had had her teacup to her lips at the time nearly sputtered at the sudden question, but managed to not.

She gave Kyouko a soft smile, hoping that this conversation wouldn’t lead to tears as the previous one the night before had.

“That is the plan.” Byakuren said.

She glanced over at Seija.

Seija had her nose buried in her bowl as she was scarfing down her vegetables.

She kept her eyes pointedly off of Byakuren.

Byakuren frowned, Kyouko did as well.

“Well…” Kyouko glanced down at her plate. She took a slice of carrot in her mouth. “I thought maybe you had changed your mind…”

Byakuren shook her head.

“Oh.” Kyouko said. She let out a sigh that sent the dishes on the table rattling.

Byakuren saw Nazrin reach forward and steady her shaking glass to prevent it from tipping over.

“We shouldn’t be gone for long.” Byakuren assured Kyouko.

“Ok…” Kyouko said as she started digging into her sausages.

With that, the conversation tapered off. Silence filled the air.

Byakuren wasn’t exactly sure if this silence was tenser than the one that had previously been present.

She glanced down the table at Seija.

Seija had apparently finished her meal. Her plate was all but cleaned. She sat there, unmoving, and silently staring into space.

Byakuren took this as her cue to finish up as well.

She downed the rest of her tea, and got to her feet.

The entire table watched her as she did so.

“Well, we’d better get going.” Byakuren said as she collected her plate and cup. She looked over at Seija.

Seija met her gaze and took the hint.

She got to her feet and collected her dirty dishes as well.

“Just be careful.” Nazrin said.

“And don’t get yourself into any trouble.” Shou agreed.

Byakuren nodded and assured them that she knew how to take care of herself before making her way to the kitchen with Seija.

They rinsed off their plates together.

Byakuren glanced over at Seija, Seija bit at her lip.

“Stop looking at me.” Seija huffed.

Byakuren let out a breathy chuckle.

“Forgive me, but now I believe it would be a good time to get what you packed, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Seija nodded.

Seija slipped out of the kitchen and disappeared down the hallway that led to her room.

Byakuren likewise headed back towards her own room.

She made her way towards the trunk in her closet and pulled out her conical hat. She held the bamboo hat in her hands. It had a thin veil surrounding the rim to protect against the weather. Byakuren rarely wore the hat, it was her designated travel hat that had done her well on her missionary trips down to the former hell. She put it on, the veil brushed against her hair and shoulders as it fell into place.

Next, she fetched her staff, another item she rarely used outside of travel. It was tucked away in her closet. She pulled it out from behind her robes, the metal hoops on the top clanked against each other noisily with the movement. It was a familiar sound like the sound of her prayer beads rubbing against each other.

Byakuren firmly held the staff in her hand and fixed her hat before heading back out of her room and down to the front door.

She was met by Seija, Kyouko, and Shou.

Seija had put on a thick beat up bomber jacket that at one time long ago belonged to Murasa, and was now toting a very heavy looking backpack.

She glanced at Byakuren with bored eyes.

Byakuren smiled back at her, then directed her smile at the other two as well.

“Well,” Byakuren said as she hoisted up her own luggage onto her back, “We’d better be off.”

“Hurry back…” Shou said quietly.

Byakuren gave her a smile and patted her shoulder.

“We will.” She assured her.

“Bring me back a souvenir if you can…” Kyouko said.

Byakuren chuckled and wrapped Kyouko in a one armed hug.

“Of course.” She said.

“Good.” Kyouko sighed.

Byakuren brought her attention over to Seija.

“Ready to go?” She asked.

Seija nodded slowly.

“Good.” Byakuren said. She released Kyouko from the hug, and opened the door for Seija.

Seija hesitated, then stepped through the threshold.

Byakuren followed after her.

She turned back to Kyouko and Shou.

“I’ll see you soon.” She said to them, “I love you both very much. Be good in my absence.”

Shou nodded.

Kyouko sniffled, she was starting to tear up again.

Shou noticed and reached down to pat the yamabiko’s head.

Byakuren gave them a sad smile and wave, then closed the door.

 

* * *

 

 

The trek over to Youkai Mountain was a quiet one.

Seija admittedly wasn’t the most talkative person, and today Byakuren felt wasn’t the day to press things with her. She seemed stressed enough.

They made their way by foot. The winter air had no pity for those who dared to abandon the warmth the earth provided.

Today, for the first time in many days, the sun was out.

The sun peeked through the clouds occasionally. The clouds, though nonthreatening and wispy, took up a good portion of the sky.

They insulated the air a small noticeable amount, but not nearly enough to make the winds lose their bite.

Byakuren shivered and tugged her cape around her. The veil around her face shifted a bit with the movement. It rustled as a small wind blew in from the north. Byakuren shivered even more.

Seija glanced over at her.

Seija had her hands in her pockets, ( Byakuren suspected because she had forgotten gloves ) and her jacket zipped tightly shut.

Her cheeks, nose, and ears were flushed from taking the blunt force of the cold, but she was not shivering nearly as much as Byakuren was.

Byakuren gave her a smile.

Seija didn’t return it. Instead, she turned her gaze back on the path ahead of her.

The silent space that surrounded them was filled with the light crunching of their footsteps against the frozen ground.

The path here was gravelly and fairly well kept. The plants on either side of the road had been shooed back by those who traveled along it frequently. Aside from a dead frozen weed here and there, the path was clear.

On either side of the path was tall yellow grass. In the summer, this grass would be green and flourishing, but the winter had claimed it. Now it was brittle and dry. On some of the thicker blades, bits of snow and ice hung.

Between the yellow overgrowth white snow blanketed the ground. Today, there was only about an inch of the powder, but the frigid temperatures in the days proceeding had frozen it solid and brittle.

Further out from the road were crop fields, all, like the surrounding area, were blanketed in the sheet of ice-like snow. The snow glittered and shone in the sun.

The shine glared up into Byakuren’s face, she had to look away.

The two made their way along, and soon left the crop fields behind.

Trees started surrounding them, signaling the beginning of the forest.

Silence still hung in the air around the two.

As the forest thickened, the gravel path tapered off into merely a dirt one, this one less well kept than the previous.

Byakuren and Seija had to squeeze past overgrown roots and bushes that got in the way. This slowed their steps a considerable amount.

Occasionally, a giggle would carry through the leaves.

Faeries flitted through the air, they seemed eager to catch a peek at the two travelers uncommon to this area.

Byakuren remembered what Reimu said about the faeries acting rowdy, and tensed quite a bit. She hoped they wouldn’t try to attack.

Luckily for her, they didn’t hang around for long.

Apparently, Seija and Byakuren’s silence bored the faeries, as they moved on to other more exciting places.

The forest thickened, then thinned, then thickened once more.

The path twisted its way through the trees, becoming more and more unruly.

Byakuren took up using her staff to push branches out of the way. Seija hung closely behind her so she wouldn’t have to deal with the threat of a twig snapping back into her face.

After quite some time, the sound of water carried over, undoubtedly the Genbu Ravine was nearby.

Here, the path leveled out into a more well kept roadway that eventually turned into brick.

Byakuren and Seija made their way along it.

They passed by the fork in the road that would have led towards the Kappa Village, and immediately the path started to turn into an incline.

It became harder and harder to climb, but they managed with only a few slip ups.

Quite a bit of time passed, and the sun began to stretch over further and further towards the west.

The brick road broke off into gravel again as they made their way up the mountain.

They entered the Tengu Village and were immediately met with crowds and winding roads.

Byakuren had to grip at Seija’s sleeve to assure herself they wouldn’t become separated.

They made their way down the main roads, through the market, and through the more residential areas.

The Tengu’s pristine tall houses reached up towards the mountain’s peak.

Not far ahead up the mountain, Moriya Shrine came into view. The shrine’s large onbashiras loomed out ahead of the considerably smaller wooden shrine that was Moyria. Their streamers, incredibly, could even be seen from here, they fluttered in the breeze far above the shrine.

Byakuren and Seija made their way along through more and more winding streets before they finally reached the edge of the Tengu Village.

They exited it, and began heading up towards Moyria Shrine.

The roads here were even steeper than before.

It was more of a climb than a walk.

Byakuren found herself breathing a bit heavily, she heard Seija behind her panting as well.

At one point, she turned and asked Seija if she wanted to stop to rest, but Seija refused flatly, and so they kept going.

The sky started changing colors as the sun began to set.

They reached Moyria Shrine, and found no one was outside to greet them.

Luckily for those who lived there, the shrine was warm and cozy inside.

Byakuren saw a light flicker on in one of the rooms, and the silhouette of a woman walked past for just a brief second.

Byakuren caught sight of blue hair through the window, she assumed this must be Kanako.

The sound of laughter from within the shrine carried outward, it was without a doubt Kanako’s. Byakuren was glad at least she was comfortable inside. Byakuren herself felt as if her legs were ready to give out on her.

The pair continued on for a little while longer, but didn’t get very far. It seemed they were both tired.

A little ways further up the mountain trees surrounded them once more.

As the sun set and the sky darkened, the leaves and trunks of the trees left long shadows across the ground ahead of them.

The path was worn quite a bit here, save for the shadows, only the occasional pile of leaves lay ahead of them.

The sun lazily sank down under the horizon, and the first stars of the night speckled the sky.

A light breeze blew through the thin forest, Byakuren’s veil caught against the side of her face, she had to adjust it a bit.

The sky turned from orange to violet to blue then darkened considerably.

Byakuren decided now was a good time to rest.

She ventured a little ways off the path, Seija still following closely in tow, and made her way to an open area just off the road.

It was shabby, but allowed for a good 30 foot circle free from the trees.

Byakuren set her bags down near the center of it with a relieved sigh. She rubbed at her aching shoulders.

Seija placed her bag down as well. She let out a grunt and stretched her hands out above her head. She yawned.

Byakuren crouched down to open her longest bag, and began digging through it.

“Are you hungry? I’m starving.” Byakuren asked distractedly as she fished around for the tent she had packed. She pulled it out from the bag, and laid it out on the ground. She removed her hat and placed it aside to wipe the sweat off of her forehead.

Seija simply watched her as she did this.

When Seija did not answer, Byakuren glanced up at her.

Seija had her arms wrapped around herself, and had buried her nose into the collar of her jacket.

“I’m cold too.” Byakuren said as she started piecing the tent together. “Why don’t you get some wood and we’ll start a fire to keep us warm, ok?” Byakuren suggested.

Seija hesitated for a long moment and remained unmoving.

Byakuren didn’t look up to see her expression as she was too busy trying to remember how to assemble the poles in her hands.

Finally, after quite a bit, Seija moved at last. She made her way out into the trees.

“Don’t get lost!” Byakuren called after her.

Seija did not respond.

Byakuren reconcentrated herself back on her work.

It took a while, and many pinched fingers and failed attempts later, a smallish sized tent was standing.

Byakuren crouched down and peeked inside.

It was cozy.

Just as she stood back up straight, she heard rustling from within the trees.

She glanced over to find Seija returning with an arm full of firewood.

Seija was wearing a very curious expression.

Byakuren blinked.

Seija did as well, she looked down at the tent Byakuren had managed to construct.

“Surprised you got it standing.” Seija said as she tossed the wood onto the ground. The branches and twigs scattered a bit with the impact.

“As am I.” Byakuren said with a chuckle. She moved over to collect the wood.

“I mean, musta worked quick.” Seija said as she moved over towards the tent.

“Hm?” Byakuren glanced up.

“It’s not like I didn’t know you were trailing after me.” Seija said as she crawled into the tent. “I’m a big girl, you know? I know how to take care of myself.” Seija mumbled.

Byakuren frowned.

“I wasn’t trailing after you.” She said.

Seija froze and glanced back over her shoulder at Byakuren.

Byakuren met her gaze. Her eyes were filled with concern.

Seija’s brow furrowed as she thought.

There was a beat of silence, then Seija said, “Yeah, whatever.” Before tossing off her shoes and closing the tent flaps behind her, blocking her off from Byakuren’s view.

Byakuren frowned.

She glanced around at the trees surrounding her.

They were dark and quiet. The wind had died down. Byakuren suddenly became aware of her breathing.

She decided it would be best to get this fire started sooner rather than later.

 

* * *

 

 

Byakuren and Seija sat around the small crackling fire, bento boxes in hand.

Seija had her sleeping bag around the lower half of her body. She had unzipped it open so it hung onto her shoulders. Her hands were trembling slightly. Her face had lost a good deal of its color.

Byakuren sat beside her, on a thin old blanket she had packed. She could feel the ground underneath her legs was cold and solid. Already the frozen earth was starting to suck the warmth out of the blanket and subsequently her legs.

The bento box had been a little shaken up with the trip over, but not terribly. Rice had stuck to the top of it, and the vegetables had shifted over onto the potsticker's half, but this was the worst of it.

Byakuren bit into one of the potstickers. It was savory and was very welcome in her empty stomach.

Both her and Seija had downed quite a bit of water each along the way, this managed to satisfy their hunger for a bit, but was nothing compared to a nice meal.

Byakuren glanced up at Seija.

The firelight flickered on her face. Her eyes were lit up from the flames.

Byakuren looked at them, and recalled back to the first time she had ever seen Seija. Before, her eyes had been cold and merciless. Now, although often retaining some of that ice, they had softened considerably.

Byakuren didn’t realize she was smiling.

Seija glanced over at her. Her cheeks were puffed out from the food in her mouth.

“What’re you looking at, monk?” Seija asked. Bits of rice fell from her lips.

Byakuren’s smile widened. She shook her head.

“Nothing, forgive me. I didn’t mean to stare.” Byakuren looked back down at her food.

“Yeah.” Seija said as she rolled her eyes and too looked down into her bento.

Byakuren worked a bit on her rice.

The fire crackled and filled the silence that had fallen between them. The orange light danced off of the dry dead bark of the trees surrounding the pair.

Seija shifted a bit closer to the fire and paused eating to warm her hands.

Byakuren glanced up at her.

“I packed extra blankets. Do you want one?” She asked.

“Shove off. I’m not cold.” Seija said as she wrung her hands together for a few moments before collecting her chopsticks and rededicating herself on devouring her meal.

Byakuren smiled and placed her bento down on the blanket before getting to her feet.

Seija watched her curiously as she did so.

Byakuren moved over towards her bags and dug through one. After a small search, she managed to find what she was looking for.

She pulled out a small knitted navy blanket.

She moved back over towards Seija and draped the blanket over Seija’s shoulders.

Seija made a disapproving loud grunt, but didn’t throw the blanket off of her. Instead, she just kept her eyes low so she wouldn’t quite have to acknowledge it was there.

Byakuren smiled and reseated herself onto her own blanket. She took her bento and began eating again.

The fire crackled again.

From somewhere within the trees a bird was jostled. It let out a small surprised chirp, then was silenced.

Both Byakuren and Seija glanced over in its direction.

They were met with silence.

Byakuren felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

She could not see anything in the darkness that surrounded the trees, but…

She glanced over at Seija.

“You said you felt like you were being followed earlier?” Byakuren asked quietly.

Seija, who had still been looking into the trees had to drag her attention off of them. She refocused her eyes on Byakuren. She took an entire potsticker in her mouth and nodded.

Byakuren frowned.

“Strange. I suppose it might be the faeries… they may have taken interest in us after all.” Byakuren said as she glanced back over at the trees.

Still nothing.

She looked away.

“You’re just trying to spook me.” Seija said with a small grunt. “So I won’t run off into the forest by myself while you’re asleep or something.”

Byakuren frowned.

“I wouldn’t…” Her frown broke into a small smile, “But, it seems like you’ve considered this possibility.” She chuckled a bit.

Surprisingly, Seija chuckled along.

“Can you blame me?” Seija asked. She cast a smirk over at Byakuren. Her sharp teeth flashed in the light. “You’re conniving like that after all.”

Byakuren laughed. Seija did as well.

“Do you really think that?” Byakuren asked through her chuckles.

“Course.” Seija’s smirk widened, “Think I can’t see through that facade into your twisted little heart?” Seija gave her a wink.

Byakuren giggled.

“My,” Was all she managed to say.

Seija snorted and shook her head.

Silence claimed their conversation as it so frequently did.

Byakuren remained smiling, she glanced up to see Seija was as well.

Byakuren wondered when she last saw Seija smile like that, if she ever had at all.

The fire sputtered. A few embers flew into the air.

Seija finished off her bento and closed it.

She put it down onto the ground and carefully got to her feet, quite the feat in her cocooned state inside the sleeping bag. Seija sort of waddled over towards the tent and slipped inside.

Byakuren heard her let out a content little sigh.

Byakuren smiled wider, and continued on with her meal.

Not too long later, she heard Seija’s breathing turn into a light snore.

Byakuren packed away her and Seija’s bentos and took out her sleeping bag.

She put out the fire and moved over to the tent. She slipped inside and pushed Seija over away from her half of the tent, settled in, and quickly fell asleep.

 

* * *

 

Byakuren awoke to sound. Just exactly what sound, she wasn’t entirely sure. She was having a hard time coming out of the haze of sleep.

She furrowed her brow and scrunched up her face as she listened.

Why was her back so stiff? Oh, right, she was sleeping in a sleeping bag.

What was that noise? She listened… The quiet steady sound of sleet pattering against the tent roof became clear.

She sighed, that was a problem, but why? She couldn't recall.

“Monk!” Seija’s voice cut through her sleepy thoughts.

Byakuren’s eyes shot open. She sat up suddenly and narrowly missed smacking her forehead against Seija’s who was leaning down beside her.

“Shit, took you long enough! I’ve been calling you for five minutes!” Seija huffed as she folded her arms.

Byakuren mumbled something incoherent about something even more incoherent.

“Our bags are getting soaked.” Seija said after a moment.

Byakuren stiffened. That woke her up.

“Oh, no.” Byakuren hurriedly crawled out of the tent and immediately regretted it.

Her feet sank into the cold mud. The freezing muck slid up between her toes and stained the bottom of her pajamas.

An icey mix blew against her face, she had to squint to see.

The frozen mixture wetted the back of her neck and her shoulders. She shivered as she hurried forward to collect her bags.

She quickly realized the hopelessness of her situation. There was no way the bags would be able to fit inside that small tent.

She stood next to the bags, looking out over at the tan tent.

It was still dark, but the sky towards the east seemed to be hinting at some light, but Byakuren could not tell if she was just hopefully imagining that dawn was coming.

Seija poked her head out of the tent. She looked at Byakuren.

“Didn’t plan this?” Seija asked with a smirk in her voice.

Byakuren sighed and shook her head.

She glanced up at the dark clouds above her… Her breath hung in front of her face.

“Seija,” Byakuren began. Her voice quivered as she trembled in the cold. “Hurry and grab your coat. Let’s bring the bags up the mountain. We might be able to hurry and get above the clouds to get out of this sleet.”

Seija shrugged and her head once again disappeared inside the tent.

A few moments later, she reappeared wearing her coat and shoes, and, surprisingly enough, was carrying Byakuren’s coat and shoes as well.

Seija tossed Byakuren’s boots in front of her and held out her coat.

Byakuren took it with a “Thank you,” and put it on. She hurriedly slipped her boots on, and hoisted her luggage up.

Seija picked up her bag as well.

“Leave the tent.” Byakuren said as she started on forwards towards the path. “We can come back for it once our bags are safe.”

“If someone doesn’t steal it first.” Seija said flatly.

Byakuren didn’t reply, she instead dedicated her thoughts on planning what to do next.

They found the road easily enough, and hurried up it.

Here, the climb was more treacherous than ever, and the icy and muddy conditions didn’t help.

“Watch your footing.” Byakuren called back to Seija.

Just as she said this, Seija’s foot slipped out from underneath her. She nearly stumbled, but grabbed Byakuren’s arm just in time to steady herself. Byakuren pulled her up to her feet. Seija straightened up and adjusted herself a bit as if to say “That didn’t just happen.” She was thankful to have the cold as an excuse for why her cheeks were so red.

The two continued upward.

The sleet fell down harder and harder around them.

By now, they were completely miserable, the slushy rain soaked through their hair and pant legs. The cold temperature started to freeze their clothes onto their bodies.

They breathed heavily as they had to work harder and harder to climb the path. It just kept inclining more and more.

Their breaths mingled with the fog that surrounded them. The haze became thicker as they continued on upwards. It thickened until it blotted out everything.

They stumbled blindly forward using only the barely visible shapes of trees on either side of them to estimate where the path lay.

Just up ahead, a large object obscured the path.

Byakuren squinted to try to see what it was, but to no avail.

It was only until they were just about upon it that she could see what it was, although she still wasn’t entirely sure what it could be.

It was from the outside world, she knew that easily enough.

It was metallic and red and had started to rust around the edges. It was a large cocoon like object, as it was hollow inside with what looked to be seats visible through the glass windows. It was on wheels, making Byakuren assume it was a type of cart, but no where on what she assumed was the front was there anyway to attach it to any type of livestock to pull it.

“You gonna gape at that thing all day, monk?” Seija asked as she tried to squeeze past her along what little part of the path wasn’t taken up by this foreign object.

“Forgive me.” Byakuren said as she hurried along. She glanced backwards over her shoulder at the large object, and watched it as it disappeared into the fog.

“I’ve never seen anything that big pop in from the outside world.” Byakuren said

“You’ve met Mamizou, haven’t you?” Seija said with a snort.

Byakuren frowned.

“This place is littered with shit from out there. If you actually looked around you’d see.” Seija said.

Byakuren frowned. She looked around into the trees, but couldn’t see anything further than 4 feet ahead of her. She suspected they must be entering the clouds now.

“Oh?” Byakuren asked.

“Yeah, almost broke my damn leg tripping on some weird bookshelf thing when I was out looking for firewood. In case you haven’t noticed, it isn’t exactly uncommon for things to appear here from the outside world.” Seija said. She had her back to Byakuren and was stumbling forward at a decent pace.

“I know, but…” Byakuren frowned, “Just something that big… I thought Nue’s bike would be the biggest.” She said.

The sleet picked up and drowned out their conversation. The pattering of the icy particles splashing down into the mud was surprisingly loud.

For the longest time that was their only solid perception of the surrounding world. The fog thickened even more. So much so, that Byakuren took to holding onto ( a very disgruntled but ultimately accepting ) Seija’s arm so they wouldn’t become separated.

The sky hadn’t lightened at all, it seemed dawn was still far off. This, of course, didn’t help them see the path any better.

Finally, after what seemed like a short eternity, the ice stopped. It was surreal how quiet it became without the sleet falling around them.

Now, it was only them with their thoughts.

Their feet sloshed in the mud, but surprisingly, this splashing sounded much more quiet than what one would expect.

With this newfound silence, they both realized just how hard they were breathing. Both were panting quite heavily from the climb.

Byakuren felt her skin was slimy and cold with the mixture of her own sweat and the wetness the precipitation had brought on her.

She swallowed and realized her throat was dry.

They continued on.

And on.

The path stretched higher for a distance more, then evened out a little.

The fog thickened even more. Byakuren could see Seija beside her, but that was it.

The trees, not even an arms distance away were visible. She swallowed again.

“Should we fly?” Byakuren asked.

Her voice echoed.

“I mean…” Seija sounded unsure, “If it’s this thick… the cloud cover might be covering even the tip now…”

Byakuren nodded.

“You may be right.”

Seija didn’t reply, instead she responded by tightening her grip very suddenly and very roughly on Byakuren’s arm.

Byakuren glanced over at her.

“What?” She asked.

Seija shushed her.

Byakuren pressed her lips closed.

“Did you hear that?” Seija hissed.

Byakuren frowned and shook her head.

_Snap._

Byakuren tensed and grabbed Seija’s hand. She looked around, but could see nothing.

But, she could hear.

She heard something moving from within the trees.

Byakuren and Seija both stopped moving, frozen in their tracks.

_Crack._

Byakuren heard Seija swallow.

There were footsteps drawing near.

She couldn’t be sure, but it almost sounded like there were two pairs of feet.

She could be sure, though, whoever or whatever it was was moving closer to them.

She felt Seija start trembling, and laced her fingers around Seija’s for reassurance. Seija made a small scared noise.

Through the fog, a shape started to appear. It was low and wide like an animals. Byakuren could only just barely make out what looked like a very long snout. As it approached, though, it got thinner and taller. It morphed into the shape of a woman. She was just about on top of them when she spoke,

“Travelers…” Her voice said.

Seija jumped at it. Byakuren tensed more.

“It is unwise to be moving through this fog.” The woman’s voice spoke again, she possessed a very thick foreign accent that Byakuren had never heard before. The woman stepped forward, and came into view.

Her face was narrow with sharp features. Her skin was very dark, almost black and seemed to turn into scales down the base of her neck. She was wearing an alarmingly thin white dress with thick gold jewelry and gems adorning her body. Her shoulders and tops of her arms were the color of her midnight skin, but farther and farther down her arms became a blond fur. She had long thick black claws that elongated her fingers. Though her frame was mostly thin, her hips jutted out under her flowing dress. Beneath the hem of her skirt, a pair of thick grey hooves were just barely visible. She caught Byakuren looking at them and gave her a small warning look. Her black eyes flashed.

Byakuren realized it had been quite some time since anyone spoke, so she took it upon herself. She took a step forward in front of Seija and cleared her throat.

“We are aware of the dangers, but the sleet was damaging our luggage. We’re seeking out higher grounds to store our belongings while the storm passes.”

The woman’s face remained blank as she processed Byakuren’s words. It seemed like she was translating them in her head.

“I see.” The woman said at last. She extended a clawed hand out to Byakuren and Seija and beckoned them forward. “Do not let me get in your way then.” She took a step aside to let Byakuren and Seija pass.

Byakuren gave her a very forced smile and lowered her head in a polite bow.

“Thank you, Miss.” Byakuren said as she stepped forward a bit.

Seija moved forward to Byakuren’s side, grabbed Byakuren’s wrist, and started tugging her forward.

Byakuren was pulled along. She passed the woman, but stopped just a few paces ahead of her. Seija tried to tug her forward but failed. Byakuren turned to look at the woman.

“Is Bhava-Agra much farther up?” Byakuren asked her.

The woman blinked at Byakuren.

“I do not know. I am not from around these parts.” The woman said. Byakuren realized she had very very sharp teeth.

Byakuren frowned.

“Oh? My apologies… I just thought… Well, with the gold… I mistook you for a god.”

The woman’s face darkened considerably, “I used to be something like a god… But, I suppose time get’s the better of all of us, now doesn’t it? Humans forget.”

Byakuren frowned.

“Oh… is… is that why you’re here?”

The woman tilted her head a bit to the side and gave Byakuren an unreadable look.

“It is true… My people have long since forgotten the name Ammit.” She said.

“Dear…” Byakuren’s frown deepened.

Seija tugged on her wrist, but Byakuren didn’t move. Seija let go with a huff.

“Are you lost then?” Byakuren frowned. “We could take you up to Bhava-Agra, it is the heaven of this place. I’m sure a godlike being such as yourself would feel most at home there.”

“I am not lost.” Ammit said flatly.

“Oh,” Byakuren didn’t quite know what else to say, so she spoke without thinking, “What are you doing around here then?” Byakuren asked.

“الصيد” The woman said before lunging forward at Byakuren. Her face had stretched forward into the snout of a crocodile. In the brief second Byakuren had to register her movement, all she could see was razor sharp teeth glaring.

She felt a sharp tugging sensation and was pulled backwards just barely out of the way of the woman. There was a _SNAP_ as her jaws closed around the space Byakuren was just in not even a second ago.

Byakuren looked backwards over her shoulder in the confusion, she saw Seija’s face directly behind her.

Seija’s face was pale, her eyes were wide, her mouth was open, but she wasn’t looking at neither Byakuren nor Ammit, her gaze was on her hand.

Byakuren followed her gaze down and felt the air escape her lungs as her breath left her.

Seija’s hand was dug clean through her back.

 

* * *

 

 

_AN: [ nervously tap dances away ]_

 


	12. Part 12

Byakuren awoke disoriented and cold. Her eyes fluttered open, and she was met with only darkness. Her eyes struggled to focus. Unusual, as her youkai eyes almost never struggled in dark environments. When they finally adjusted to her surroundings, she sat up.

The back of her robes stuck and clung to the ground as she pulled herself up, she glanced back to see what had caught them, and was surprised to find it was the ground itself.

Byakuren placed her hand on the dark ground beneath her and found it was moist and sticky to the touch. It vaguely reminded her of drying tar.

She grimaced and sat up more.

Her hair stuck to the floor a bit, but after a small amount of tugging it came free. She ran her hands through it.

Curious, there was no tar-ish residue in her locks. Her fingers ran clearly through it. She ran her hand over the back of her robes and found they too were as clean as she remembered.

Her brow furrowed with thought.

Footsteps drew her out of this. They were headed in her direction.

The footsteps carried a curious _splatting_ sound with them as they pattered forward on the tar-like landscape.

Byakuren looked around but was struggling to tell where they were coming from. The sound of the steps echoed around her as if off of cave walls. Just when she thought she could tell which direction they were coming from, the echoing changed and suddenly they were coming from the opposite direction.

Byakuren made to get to her feet, but once again her robes stuck to the ground, she stumbled and fell forward onto her knees. She steadied herself by putting her palms flatly on the ground. The ground was squished under her fingers. A small amount of moisture seeped up out of it. She looked down at her hands and saw whatever liquid it was was black and thick. She pulled her hands up away from the ground. The liquid clung heavily to her hands for a few moments then seemed to disappear all together.

Byakuren frowned and ran her hands together. They were dry.

“Hey,” said a voice from behind her.

Byakuren flinched and swung around. She was caught off balance again as her robes tangled around her legs. She toppled forward, only just barely able to catch herself from falling on her face by landing painfully on her elbow. She could feel the soft ground leaking more moisture out as her arm pressed into it. The dampness soaked through her sleeve.

Byakuren ignored this and instead focused on who was there.

She was more than a little relieved to see it was Seija.

Seija was crouching down a near distance away, wearing a very curious expression. Her hair was messy and matted and hung in her face. She was dressed in a tan shirt that vaguely resembled a shitagi. She was filthy and covered in whatever that black liquid the ground was weeping was.

Despite her ragged appearance, she gave Byakuren a wide toothy grin.

Byakuren blinked at this. She wasn’t sure if she had ever seen Seija smile that genuinely.

“Seija,” was all Byakuren managed to say.

“Yeah.” Seija said as she slowly got to her feet. “Watch the ground. Gets kinda goopy. Don’t twist your ankle.” Seija extended a hand out towards Byakuren.

Byakuren eyed her curiously. She did not take her hand.

“Are… you feeling well?” Byakuren asked slowly.

“Terrible as always.” Seija admitted with a shrug. Seija took her hand back. She then extended that same hand forward to Byakuren once again as if just in case the first time Byakuren hadn’t noticed. She continued to grin down at Byakuren.

Byakuren narrowed her eyes and looked Seija up and down.

There was definitely something off.

“Who… are you?” Byakuren asked.

“Huh?” Seija blinked. Her expression changed to… questioning. Since when did Seija’s face actually show honest emotion like that? “I’m Seija.” Seija said. She once again took her hand back then re-extended it to Byakuren.

Byakuren shook her head.

“Are… are you?” She eyed Seija’s hand. It was nearly entirely painted in the black dried liquid.

“Yeah.” Seija said. “Well…” Seija frowned. “I guess you noticed, huh?” Seija’s frown deepened. “I’ll explain it to you, just get up first. I don’t like looking down on you. It’s weird. I’m not used to it.” Seija said.

Byakuren frowned and hesitated.

She slowly reached up and took Seija’s hand.

It was cold.

Seija helped her up to her feet. It was a bit awkward with her robes still tugging beneath her, but she managed.

“There you go.” Seija said as she dusted off her hands. Small flakes of the dried crust on her hands were brushed off. They immediately remoistened and soaked back into the ground.

“Now, explain.” Byakuren more of asked than said.

“Ok… uh…” Seija shuffled a bit in place. She looked up nervously at Byakuren. “Walk this way with me and I’ll tell you on the way.” Seija said as she turned her back towards Byakuren and started walking away.

Byakuren followed after her.

“So, I’m Seija, but… uh, we’ve only met a few times.” Seija admitted.

Byakuren frowned and looked down at Seija’s face.

“Seija, I’ve known you for months.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know… But, I’m not exactly the Seija you know.” Seija said quietly. “Uh, you know my waking self, my consciousness... I guess you could call me her subconscious or heart or something along those lines. I’ve only spoken directly to you a handful of times…” Seija paused as she let Byakuren process these words.  “Course I know all about you, though. You wear your heart on your sleeve.” Seija said with a shrug. She glanced up at Byakuren. Her eyes were soft.

“I’m confused.” Byakuren said.

“Yeah, that’s to be expected. I’m confused myself. I’m kind of rolling with this.” Seija admitted.

Byakuren frowned.

“You said you’re her… heart?” Byakuren asked.

“Yeah, I guess that’s the right term for it.” Seija said. “Oh, and welcome. I never welcomed you.” Seija said as she gestured to the dark damp landscape ahead of them.

Before Byakuren had a chance to question this, Seija continued,

“Yeah, welcome. I’ve never had anyone in here… It’s bleak, but it’s home.” Seija said quietly. “Actually, I really didn’t know I could have anyone in here. But, like I said, rolling with this whole situation.”

“What’s _in here_?” Byakuren asked.

“My being.” Seija said as she gestured around to the landscape again. Unsurprisingly nothing had changed since the last time she had gestured. The landscape was entirely flat with no visible variations anywhere.

Byakuren frowned, but once again, before she could question this Seija spoke,

“Yeah, I guess I kinda… Yanked you in here.” Seija said. She gave a sheepish guilty chuckle. “Whoops… Sorry.”

“You did what?” Byakuren frowned.

“That Ammit, she went right for you.” Seija said. “I panicked and tried to pull you back, but I… I guess I grabbed right through you and pulled out... well I guess what I think was your heart… I didn’t know I could-... I didn’t mean to… I-...” Seija sighed and took in a deep breath. “She tried to go after you again, but suddenly lost interest in you… like she was only interested in-... Well, she suddenly took interest in me and… Your heart…” I ran and she chased. In the commotion I stumbled. When I tried to steady myself I accidently squeezed your heart… I thought I’d killed you, but it kinda just sank into my hand… And here you are.”

Byakuren frowned and placed her hand over her chest. She could feel her pulse.

Seija eyed her as she did this. “I mean if I messed it up I can fix it, right?” Seija asked unsurely.

Byakuren gave her a small smile.

“I have faith in you… But, tell me, what happened with Ammit then?”

“Lost her… Came back for you. You were fine, well aside from probably catching your death in those wet clothes. I dragged you to safety. And if I may add, you’re very heavy.” Seija huffed, “But, yeah, once I knew I lost Ammit I tried to give you your heart back, I mean, you were still breathing and everything, just unconscious… Kinda slipped into a weird meditative trance when I tried to find where I’d absorbed your heart and my waking self fell in here too… Really bad news… That me… well.. it’s best if we get that me out of here sooner rather than later.” Seija said.

Byakuren frowned.

“Is she… I mean, are you ok?” Byakuren asked.

“For the time being.” Seija said with a sigh. “I’m hoping that if you find my conscious self, she’ll- I mean I’ll, be able to pull you back out and fix you.” Seija said.

Byakuren nodded slowly.

“My conscious self is somewhere lost in the portion of this place dedicated to memories. It’d be best if you headed over in that direction.”

“Me?” Byakuren frowned, “Aren’t you coming along?”

Seija’s face darkened a small amount. “No…” She took in a deep breath, “I’m not ready to meet myself. My consciousness would most likely become violent.”

“Oh…” Byakuren frowned.

Seija shook her head and gave Byakuren a weak smile. “So, sorry, but I can’t.”

“I understand.” Byakuren said as she placed her hand on Seija’s shoulder in reassurance.

Seija’s smile widened.

“Oh, but before we part ways…” Seija said. She gestured to a shape in the distance. “I want to show you something.”

Byakuren squinted. It was hard to tell how large it was with nothing to compare it to, but seemed almost looming.

As they approached it, Byakuren swallowed as she realized what it was.

The shape emerged from the shadows and took form into an enormous heart taller than the pair combined.

Byakuren gaped at it. She first realized that it was beating, she secondly realized that it was oozing the familiar black liquid that the floor produced.

“Sorry if it’s kinda dramatic…” Seija said abashedly, “Uh, I just wanted to show you… I mean… this is me… Me,” Seija patted her chest, “This me is just a projection of this..” Seija said as she stepped forwards towards the heart.

Byakuren stopped a few feet away from it and looked up at it.

The beating quickened a bit.

Seija’s cheeks darkened with a blush.

Byakuren brought her eyes down to her and gave her a reassuring smile.

“No need to worry, my child.” Byakuren said.

“Wh-what do you think?” Seija asked. She fidgeted a little.

Byakuren smiled and moved forwards.

“It’s lovely.” Byakuren said.

The beating quickened. The loud low thumping filled the air.

Seija’s face broke out into a grin.

“I was nervous you’d think I was… I dunno, I was afraid you wouldn’t like me.”

Byakuren smiled and placed her hand on Seija’s shoulder.

“I already love you.” She said softly.

Seija’s blush deepened even more.

“I love you too.” She said before casting her eyes to the ground. “Sorry I never told you directly before…”

Byakuren smiled and pulled her into a hug.

“I feel like I’m fluent enough in Seija Speak to understand you when you say it.” Byakuren said as she lightly patted Seija’s hair.

Seija wrapped her arms around Byakuren’s waist and held her close.

“Sorry…”

“No need for apologies.” Byakuren said softly.

“Still…” Seija’s voice was muffled in Byakuren’s arm.

They held each other for a few long moments before pulling apart.

Seija fidgeted a little, embarrassedly.

Byakuren just gave her an understanding smile.

“Um,” Seija spoke finally, but that was all she managed to say.

Byakuren tilted her head expectantly.

“Just be careful out there…” Seija said quietly.

Byakuren nodded.

“Of course.” She said.

Seija grinned at her words and scratched at the back of  her head.

“Good. I don’t want you getting hurt.” Seija said.

“Is there something that can hurt me in here?” Byakuren asked with a frown.

Seija’s smile dropped.

“Uh, I mean… I don’t think that anything would, especially since you’re you… but still… Some parts have always been violent… But, uh,” Seija’s blush deepened, “Just keep your guard up, and all you’ll have to really worry about is not tripping over this stuff.” Seija said as she patted the giant heart next to her. Her palm slapped wetly against it.

“What exactly is that liquid?” Byakuren asked.

Seija’s expression changed from surprised to embarrased more quickly than Byakuren had expected even possible.

“Uh, it’s usually not _this bad_ … It only gets this clogged when I’m well-… It’s the byproduct of me not being able to process stress well enough… so all this forms when I can’t wash it out…” Seija patted the heart again, “Then it just keeps getting worse and worse from there…” Seija eyed Byakuren, “But, I guess it doesn’t stick to you, huh?” Seija moved her hand off the heart and examined it close to her face. “Guess that makes sense, it only really exists within my mind… A projection, just like myself.” She looked up at Byakuren, “But just because it’s a projection doesn’t mean it’s not real. Don’t get yourself caught in it. You’re still affected by it when you’re directly touching it.”

“Right.” Byakuren said with a nod. She brought her gaze up towards the heart again. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And, uh, like I said, just be careful.” Seija said. She motioned off to her right. “It’ll get labyrinthy, so try not to get lost…” Seija fidgeted a little.

“No need to worry.” Byakuren said as she moved forward and placed her hand on Seija’s shoulder.

“Right.” Seija nodded. “Right.” She nodded again. “Please just don’t get yourself hurt… I’d miss you…”

Byakuren chuckled lightly and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

“I’ll get through it for you.” Byakuren said as she took her hand off of Seija’s shoulder.

Seija beamed.

“Good luck.” She said as she stepped aside for Byakuren to pass.

Byakuren moved forward and looked out onto the flat landscape ahead of her. She had no idea how far this nothingness stretched. She swallowed and took another step forward.

“I’ll see you later, Seija.” Byakuren said over her shoulder.

Seija gave her a sheepish smile and nodded, “Sooner or later, yeah. Keep an eye out for me.”

Byakuren smiled back at her for a long moment, before turning and leaving her side.

 

* * *

 

Byakuren wasn’t sure how long she had spent walking. Moments dragged on into minutes and minutes into what felt like hours. The bare dark landscape ahead of her stretched on and on.

Her feet dug into the sponge-like ground with every step. Each and every time, the black tar-like water would seep up from the ground and wet the bottom of her shoes. Then, as she would raise her foot to take another step, her shoe would instantly dry only to be rewetted again as it came in contact with the ground.

Once or twice she glanced behind her to see if she had even made any distance at all, looking for Seija behind her in the distance as a type of landmark, but she was gone. With the loss of Seija and the heart, there was also the loss of any orientation Byakuren could have hoped to have. She began to worry she was traveling in circles, but had no way to confirm her fears.

And so she walked on.

It was quiet aside from her steps and the occasional drip of what sounded like water from some unseen ceiling above her. The sounds echoed as if off of cave walls, and yet Byakuren could not see any to speak of.

Byakuren wondered what Seija’s consciousness was doing. She wondered if in the time she had spent walking, if Seija had moved to another area and if this entire trek was for not. She wondered-

Her thoughts cut off as she was suddenly falling, then even more suddenly, choking.

Byakuren struggled to regain her bearings. The watery tar-like substance soaked through her clothes. She realized she was immersed in it. She had fallen into a small trench. Her feet touched the bottom, the liquid reached up to the bottom of her chin. It was thick and pressed in against her.

She struggled to keep her breathing calm. With every breath, her chest would struggle to press outwards. With every exhale the liquid would crush in against her ribs.

Byakuren stumbled back, and found the ledge she had fallen from. There was a small sharp drop, and she found luckily she would be able to pull herself up.

She pressed her hands flatly against the ledge and began pulling herself up, but stopped.

She looked out ahead of her, and, to her disbelief, saw a wall not even ten feet away. The pit of black liquid led over to the equally as black wall. Byakuren almost didn’t see it as it blended in with the darkness of the rest of the landscape so well.

She felt her heart sink with the realization that she must have reached the edge of the heart… She must have been walking in circles after all, there was no labyrinth Seija had mentioned, and no Seija either… There was just a wall…

Byakuren looked out to either side of it. Now she would have to choose which direction to move in. If she chose incorrectly, she had no idea how long it would take her to circle around to find Seija again, if she even could find her now… Her stomach twisted.

She looked over at the wall and sighed. The sound of her breath echoed off of it.

The black liquid rippled away from the wall.

Byakuren leaned against the ledge and let her eyes fall on the ripples.

More ripples formed with her movement. These small waves traveled over towards the wall, but dissipated before reaching it.

Byakuren’s brow furrowed. Aside from her movements, the water was completely still. Why were there ripples against the wall.

Against her better judgement, she moved forwards away from the ledge.

The pit became deeper, the liquid level rose as she sank into it. The surface of the liquid reached Byakuren’s lower lip. She squeezed her mouth tightly shut as she moved forwards.

She reached the wall, and raised her hand out of the liquid to touch it.

It was made of the same softness as the ground was. She moved her hand down lower and back into the muck. She was surprised to feel that the wall stopped just a few inches under the surface of the water.

Byakuren reached forward, and could feel nothing blocking her way.

She hesitated.

And hesitated some more.

Then, she took in a deep breath, squeezed her eyes shut, pinched her nose closed, and dove in under the surface.

She more of struggled rather than swam forward, keeping one hand above her head firmly against the section of wall that was preventing her from surfacing again.

Not even three feet forward, and the wall ended. Byakuren’s hand pushed upwards and broke the surface again. She could feel air.

She pushed her head up, and surfaced. She took in a large gasp of air. The sound of this echoed off the wall that was now behind her.

The liquid immediately dried from her face, she opened her eyes, and was met with, for the first time in quite some time, a different landscape.

Just a little ways in from the bank of liquid she was in, she could see what looked like a large wooden building.

From within the windows, she could see light. She could almost even swear she saw movement.

Byakuren hurried forward over towards the bank and pulled herself up out of the muck with a grunt. Her robes hung heavily and wetly against her, pulling her back down. She stumbled once or twice, but managed to finally pull herself out.

The moment she was out, her robes dried.

She panted and collapsed heavily onto the spongy ground.

It took Byakuren quite a few long moments to recollect herself.

She weakly pulled herself up to her feet and moved forwards towards the building.

Byakuren found quite quickly that the building was much farther away than she originally anticipated. She also found equally as quickly, that the building was much larger than she originally anticipated.

It loomed over her like a small mountain. Its large foreboding doors were more willing to be proportionate to the structure itself rather than Byakuren who was insignificant in comparison. She gaped up at it. Just outside the door a red porch light burned brightly. It fought back the darkness quite a decent amount, and even from where Byakuren was standing on the ground, she could feel its warmth.

Not entirely knowing what better way to handle the situation, she did as her gut instructed her.

She raised her tiny hand up and knocked where she could reach on the enormous door.

Not even a second later, it slid open.

Byakuren had to resist covering her ears as the roar of the door’s rollers filled the air and shook the ground.

When the horrible loud noise stopped, she collected herself well enough to look inside.

She was met with a large wooden hallway, surprisingly to her, she could see moonlight shining in from one of the windows on the wall. She looked around the landscape just to double check, and indeed it was completely pitch black out here.

She shook it off, and hopped over the door’s rolling track as she entered the building.

Her world spun around her. Suddenly she was proportionate with the house. She fit inside it as she would any other house. She tried to steady herself on the doorframe, as she regained her bearings, but the door slammed shut behind her and she nearly accidentally pushed through the screen door. She stumbled forwards and instead steadied herself on a nearby wall.

It took a long moment for her head to stop spinning.

The sound of familiar laughter dragged her out of her thoughts.

She looked up, confused.

The laughter bounced and echoed off the walls and rattled the door behind her.

It was, without a doubt, Kyouko’s laugh.

Byakuren’s brow furrowed, she made her way down the hallway towards it.

Inside, at the end of the hall, the hallway split right and left.

Byakuren strained her ears, trying to pick up on which direction the laugh was coming from, but to no avail. As quickly as it started, it ended.

She was left in silence.

She looked down the right hallway, and was surprised to see that the entirety of both walls were made up of doors. She looked down the other hallway and saw it mirrored the one to the right.

 _“Nice catch, sister!”_ The sound of Ichirin’s voice carried over from Byakuren’s right. Her head snapped in that direction. Byakuren hurried along down that hallway.

She listened in on each doorway as she passed. They were quiet on the other side.

Then, as she reached what must have been the tenth door, she heard a voice from behind the one to her left.

She didn’t recognize this voice, wait no, maybe she did....

It was small and light and muffled by the door.

Byakuren took a step over towards the door and placed her hand on it.

The second her hand came into contact with the wood, the door morphed. It changed into an old wooden door. There were planks of wood haphazardly nailed across it as if to keep it shut. There was a crude sign plastered over the front of it that said “ _Keep out!!!!_ ” in what almost looked to be mud.

Byakuren frowned.

The voice from within spoke again.

“ _Seija, I don’t think_ ” The voice quieted into incoherent mumbles.

Byakuren realized she really did recognize it…. Only just barely, but she had definitely heard it before. She leaned forward and pressed her ear against the door.

She was met with silence.

Byakuren frowned and took a step back. The moment she wasn’t touching the door, it morphed again into the screen door it had previously been.

Byakuren moved over towards the door just to the right of it and placed her hand on that one.

This one morphed too, but into another screen door. This new door was less plain than the previous had been. It was adorned with paintings of red flowering branches. There were no boards on this door.

Byakuren hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and pulled the door open just a crack. She looked inside.

She was met with the inside of what looked to be a restaurant, no, a bar. It was quite small, and felt even smaller with the heavy wooden tables that were set up on the floor. The light was dim and flickering. The only natural light came from a small crack in the aging ceiling. The low murmur of a small crowd filled the room. Four people were inside.

One of which, Byakuren recognized to be Seija.

Seija was hunched over a table in the far corner. Her hair was longer than Byakuren had ever seen it, and was hung down low in her face. Byakuren almost wouldn’t have recognized her if it weren’t for her telltale horns peaking out of her black speckled hair.

The other three people in this room, to Byakuren’s surprise, had no faces. From the neck up their faces were merely black smudges like ink that had been smeared while still drying.

Seija reached forward onto the table and began drumming her fingers on the wood. Her long clawlike nails clacked noisily against the old wood.

One of the faceless figures, apparently a man, got up from where he was seated and moved across the room over towards the counter against the far end of the bar.

As he walked by Seija, the drumming of her nails stopped. She made a quick movement that Byakuren only just was able to see, although she wasn’t sure exactly what had happened as Seija moved just as the man cut her off from view.

The man continued on forwards towards the counter. Seija, likewise got to her feet and began moving over towards the door on the opposite end of the room.

She nearly made it there, just as the man who had passed by her let out an angry roar.

“My wallet!” He shouted.

Seija flinched, she attempted to sprint towards the door, but stumbled over her sandal.

In the next moment, the man that was previously by the counter was looming over Seija, holding her up by the collar of her shirt.

He had a face now. His dark thin eyes glared down at her. His long wide mouth was clenched in a snarl.

“Thieving youkai scum!” He shouted as he wound back his fist.

Seija winced, anticipating his blow.

Byakuren, without thinking, sprung forward from behind the door.

“Enough!” She shouted.

The entire room flickered. Suddenly all eyes were on her.

“What are you…?” Seija asked quietly.

Suddenly, everything aside from Seija vanished, leaving only a bleak grey nothingness.

Seija gaped at Byakuren, still held up as if that man were still lifting her, her shirt was even pulled forward where his hand had been gripping at it.

“Seija…” Byakuren breathed, not entirely sure what to say.

“You’re not… supposed to be here. This one isn’t about you.”

“What?” Byakuren blinked.

“This is the time I got my tooth chipped. I didn’t know you here. Leave.” Seija said flatly.

“You’re not the consciousness, are you?” Byakuren asked.

“I’m a memory.” Seija said.

Byakuren blinked.

“Oh, good! So I’m in the right place! This is where the memories are stored… Have you seen your consciousness around?”

“No.” Seija said. “Now leave.”

“Will you be-” Byakuren began, but before she could finish she was shoved backwards out the door by some invisible force. The door slammed shut in front of her. The next moment later there was a sickening _SMACK_ from the other side of the door that sounded an awful lot like flesh colliding with flesh.

Byakuren grimaced at the noise as she straightened herself up. She listened more, but there was only silence now. She sighed and continued on down the hall.

Further along, she was met with more curious sounds. She decided it was most likely best to continue on down the hallway rather than getting dragged into more of Seija’s memories, but she had no idea where to go. She listened for familiar voices, maybe if she heard one she recognized it would be a memory where Seija knew her at the time. Maybe if Seija’s memory knew her she would be more willing to help rather than shoving her out…

Byakuren frowned.

 _“What are you? An oni?”_ Came a voice from behind a door to her left.

 _“Yes.”_ The sound of Seija snorting came from that very same door.

Byakuren frowned. She was unfamiliar with the first voice, so she moved on.

“ _he’s too scrawny to be an oni._ ” Came a voice from behind that door. Byakuren glanced back over her shoulder at it, but decided to keep on moving rather than turn back.

Byakuren reached the end of the hall and was met once again with a fork in the hallway. She hesitated as she debated on which way to go.

A scream to her left made that decision for her.

Byakuren flinched and looked in the direction in which it came.

“ _SHIT! YOU BIT ME!_ ” Called a very alarmed voice from two doors down.

Byakuren hurried forward and opened the door so quickly she didn’t even have a chance to see what it morphed into.

Inside she saw was met a forest. It was lit with the orange sunlight of either dawn or dusk. The trees were still green and sporting their healthy leaves of summer.

Seija was laying flat on her back looking up at an orange haired woman who was rubbing her forearm rather roughly.

“You should be more grateful to someone who just saved your life!” The redhead shouted down at Seija.

Seija all but hissed as she got unsteadily back up to her feet. Her hair was shorter than it had been in the previous memory Byakuren had seen. It looked similar to the style Seija had when they first met.

Byakuren frowned as she took a step inside.

Both Seija and the woman looked over at her.

Byakuren saw the woman’s face, she was grimacing and still rubbing at her arm. She looked more miffed than startled at Byakuren’s appearance.

Seija merely glared at her.

“This doesn’t involve you!” Seija shouted at Byakuren.

Byakuren frowned and asked, “Do I know you in this memory?”

“No, stupid!” Seija huffed. “Leave!” The forest around them flickered.

“Have you seen your consciousness around-” Before she could finish she was toppling backwards just as before. She landed flatly on her butt as the door slammed shut in front of her.

“ _Y_ _ou didn’t save my life! I had the situation handled!_ ” Seija’s voice called from the other side of the door.

“ _Yeah, fine, whatever. Some thanks._ ” The woman’s voice said.

Their conversation tapered off into silence as Byakuren unsteadily got back up to her feet.

Byakuren sighed as she continued along down the hallway. She was met with more and more doors and more and more voices she didn’t recognize.

She came to the end of this hallway as well, and turned left again as the hallway once again split up into two corridors.

A few steps down this hallway, she heard a door behind her open.

Byakuren swung around, but was met with nothing but the empty hallway behind her. Her brow furrowed as she looked around, confused.

“Hello?” She called unsurely.

There was no response.

She turned around again and continued forwards.

To her left the sound of dishes clattering against each other bled through one of the screen doors. She heard Seija’s shrill laugh, and then a dish shatter. The doorway went silent after that.

She heard quick footsteps behind her. These definitely sounded like they came from outside the doors. Byakuren spun around, but once again was met with the same empty hallway.

She remembered what Seija had said earlier about portions of her that were still violent. She tensed and strained her eyes to see. But, she could not see anything out of the ordinary.

Begrudgingly, she turned back around and continued on down the hallway.

The footsteps once again trailed after her.

This time, for a few steps, Byakuren didn’t turn.

Just up ahead of her through one of the nearby doors she heard a familiar voice that drew her thoughts away from the footsteps behind her.

“ _T_ _íngzhǐ_ ” Called the very distinct slurring voice of Yoshika.

Byakuren moved forwards and stopped in front of this door.

“ _Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?_ ” Yoshika’s voice called again.

“ _Out of my way!_ ” Seija’s voice called in response.

“ _Can’t! Why’re you running?_ ” Yoshika asked.

Byakuren hesitated in front of the door, she extended her hand towards it, but stopped at the sound of Seija’s voice.

“ _I’m- uh- a Buddhist! We’re always running! Shove off!_ ”

Byakuren’s brow furrowed.

From a little ways down the hall, she heard a giggle. Her head snapped in its direction.

There was a tiny startled gasp and movement. A small figure moved over to the side of one of the walls and slinked back into the shadows.

Byakuren strained her eyes as she tried to see. She stepped forwards. She heard the figure take a step back.

“Who’s there?” Byakuren called.

Nothing.

“I know you’re there. Come out.” Byakuren said firmly.

She saw the figure in the shadows slink down a bit further.

“...Seija?” Byakuren asked unsurely.

 The figure froze.

There was a moment of tense silence. Byakuren could hear herself breathing.

From within a door beside her, the sound of a woman’s humming carried over. Byakuren recognized this to be Ichirin’s voice, but she cast thoughts of this out of her mind and instead kept her attention on the matter at hand.

“Please come out.” Byakuren said unsurely.

The figure hesitated, then after what felt like an eternity, slowly moved forward into view.

Byakuren swallowed and clenched her fists at the sight.

It was Seija, just, smaller. Much smaller. Her hair was cropped short, her horns seemed a bit larger in comparison to her tiny head. Her eyes were large and vibrant against her dark cheeks. She was dressed in a dull off white kosode that was a little too large on her, making her look even smaller. She had her small hands together and was fumbling nervously with her obi. She peeked up at Byakuren through her short bangs.

She was a child.

“Hello there…” Byakuren said quietly.

Seija blinked up at her and nodded quickly in response.

Byakuren smiled and crouched down to eye level with her.

“Do you know who I am?” Byakuren asked.

Seija pouted. Her round cheeks puffed out. She gave another curt nod and went back to fumbling with her obi.

“You don’t need to be afraid.” Byakuren said as she extended a hand forwards towards Seija.

Seija eyed the hand very cautiously then moved her eyes back up to Byakuren’s face.

“What are you doing here?” Seija asked. Her tiny light voice bounced off the walls.

“I’m looking for your consciousness… That isn’t you, is it?” Byakuren asked.

Seija hesitated then shook her head. Her speckled hair was jostled quite a bit and hung down messily in her face when she finished.

Byakuren’s smile widened.

“Do you know where I could find her?” Byakuren asked.

Seija hesitated again then nodded.

Byakuren’s face lit up.

“Really?” She asked.

Seija nodded again.

“Where?”

“She moved on deeper than here.” Seija said. “Somewhere in the bonds place now.”

“Bonds?” Byakuren frowned.

“Yeah.” Seija nodded. “She didn’t like it in here much…” Seija said slowly.

Byakuren frowned. She realized she still had her hand out to Seija. She stretched it a bit farther forwards.

“Could you tell me where that is?”

“Out back someplace.” Seija said as she eyed Byakuren’s hand.

“Where?” Byakuren asked.

“Out back someplace.” Seija repeated herself.

“Could you show me to it?” Byakuren asked.

Seija nodded, still not taking her eyes off of Byakuren’s hand.

Byakuren frowned, not knowing exactly what to say next. Seija just kept staring at her hand.

“Are you a memory?” Byakuren asked.

Seija blinked up at her face and shook her head.

Byakuren tilted her head, a little surprised.

“No? Then who are you?”

“Inner child…” Seija said quietly.

“Oh.” Byakuren smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

“We met before.” Seija said as she slowly took a step forward.

Byakuren’s smile widened, “You must be right…”

Seija didn’t respond she only moved forwards over to Byakuren’s hand. She reached her small hand up and placed it in Byakuren’s palm.

Byakuren lightly closed her fingers around her tiny hand.

To her surprise, Seija took another step forwards and moved into Byakuren’s arms.

Byakuren was slightly taken aback she froze and blinked.

Seija merely rested her head on Byakuren’s shoulder. She let out a small contented sigh.

Byakuren placed a hand on her back and lightly patted it.

“I’ll take you to find her, I guess.” Seija said quietly. Her voice was muffled in Byakuren’s top.

“Really? Earlier your heart said that it would be a bad idea if her consciousness met her.”

“She won’t hurt me… She kinda likes me…” Seija said.

“Oh?” Byakuren tried to pull back to look at Seija’s face, but Seija just pressed herself forwards some more so she remained buried in Byakuren’s shoulder.

“Yeah.” Seija said. She moved both of her her arms forwards and wrapped them lightly around Byakuren’s neck.

“Shall we get going then?” Byakuren asked.

Seija nodded and let out an approving noise but didn’t pull back.

Byakuren frowned and tried to pull back again. Seija just held on tighter.

“I need to move, dear child…” Byakuren said quietly.

“Carry me.” Seija said with a small annoyed huff as if Byakuren should have known this.

“Oh.” Byakuren said lamely. She wrapped her arms around Seija’s tiny frame and lifted.

She wasn’t heavy at all. Then again, Seija now wasn’t heavy either.

Seija was considerably smaller than Kyouko, and Byakuren had quite a good amount of practice lifting the yamabiko. Seija fit comfortably in her arms. She nuzzled her small head into Byakuren’s neck and let out a content sigh. Byakuren felt her horns lightly poke into her skin.

“Which way?” Byakuren asked as she glanced between the hallway up ahead and the hallway she had come from.

Seija peeked up and pointed towards the hallway ahead, then moved her hand up to her face and put that same finger between her lips.

Byakuren nodded and moved forwards in the direction Seija had instructed.

This hallway was a bit longer than the rest, it took her a bit of time to reach the end of it. As she did, Seija pointed left down another hallway, and Byakuren started down that one as well.

As she moved on the curious sounds from behind the screen doors still bled through. Most Byakuren didn’t recognize, but here and there she would hear one of the temple’s residents' voices. Once she even heard Reimu’s.

She glanced down at Seija in her arms, then back at the hallway ahead of her.

“What are you doing in here anyway? Is this where you stay?” Byakuren asked.

“Sometimes…” Seija shrugged. “I guess… I like coming here. Some of the rooms are fun. I know where all the good ones are.” She said proudly.

“Oh?” Byakuren smiled. “Like what?”

“Like- uh- that time I got free ice-cream.” Seija said, “Or when I ate so much chicken I got sick.”

Byakuren chuckled hard at this and said, “My, I’ll need to ask about that one later.”

Seija giggled along and nodded.

“Or, uh,” Seija pointed towards a door that was coming up on the right, “That one’s the time the rain started just as I got under an awning.”

Byakuren glanced over towards that door. Sure enough, the sound of rain carried over from inside of it.

“I’m glad you were able to stay dry.” Byakuren said as she gave Seija a light squeeze.

“Me too…” Seija said.

They reached the end of the hallway. To Byakuren’s right was a large double doored screen with a different pattern than the rest. The pale yellowish hue of imaginary moonlight soaked through the thick paper.

“That’s it.” Seija said. “The back door.”

Byakuren moved forwards over to it and slid it open.

Through it was a long tunnel-like pathway. It had a wooden roof that was held up by support beams that dotted a short brown railing on either side.

“Don’t step off the path.” Seija said as she fidgeted a little in Byakuren’s arms. “Or you’ll shrink again.”

“Oh?” Byakuren frowned as she stepped forwards out onto the walkway. “Why is this place so enormous?”

“Memories seem bigger than they are.” Seija said with a shrug.

“Ah,” Byakuren said as she moved forwards. Up ahead she could see another door at the end of the tunnel. “And are bonds also like this?”

“Nuh-uh.” Seija shook her head. “Those really are that big.”

Byakuren smiled and glanced down at Seija.

Seija simply kept her eyes straight forward.

Byakuren looked back up at the way ahead of her.

It was a short walk over towards the door. She made her way over towards it and opened it.

Inside she was met with a considerably darker building. The shadows hung down heavily inside. As she stepped in, her eyes struggled to adjust to it.

“Dark in here.” She said as she closed the door behind her.

Seija nodded. “Easier to ignore…”

“Oh?” Byakuren said with a frown.

Seija just nodded and pressed her cheek up against Byakuren’s top.

“Think she’s that way.” Seija said as she pointed towards her right.

Byakuren nodded and followed her words.

This building had great similarity to the previous one. It was plain and unfurnished with entirely paper walls and a bare wooden floor.

Byakuren found herself making her way down yet another hallway, this one, just as the former building, had doors lining the walls. These doors, however, were silent on the inside. Most curiously though, was beside each door was a small nameplate like sign. The signs varied in stiles from each door. Some were paper, some were wood, some were marble. Byakuren scanned each sign as she passed.

“ _That cat that woke me up that one time_ ” Read a small paper sign that belonged to a very weak looking door. The writing on the paper was scribbled and almost illegible. The paper itself looked like it had been crumbled up then flattened as well as it could be, then simply taped to the door.

“ _Rei, or at least I think that was his name_ ” Was the next sign. It was only just barely in better condition than the previous.

“ _Kogasa?_ ” Read the next sign. It looked like it had tried to be erased. Curious, Byakuren didn’t even think Seija knew her.

“ _That bitch, Sakuya_ ” Said the next sign after that. This one was made out of a firmer looking paper. It had been torn in half three times then plastered together.

“ _That guy who stole my shoe_ ” Was the next sign.

“These all seem so…” Byakuren frowned. “What’s the word… Vague, Distant?”

“The deeper bonds are deeper in.” Seija said.

“Ah…” Byakuren nodded. She continued on even more, and reached the end of a hall.

Seija instructed her to go left and she did.

“ _Yoko”_

“ _That woman who gave me a discount on those chips_ ”

“ _The cute Tsukumo_ ”

“ _The angry Tsukumo_ ”

“ _That really annoying bird outside my window_ ”

They reached the end of the hallway, and once again went left.

The hallway here was a bit darker than the previous one. The musty smell of dust hung thickly in the air.

Byakuren sneezed, as she made her way forward.

The next hall they turned down was even more poorly lit than the former.

Byakuren squinted as she read the signs.

“ _That really nice dog_ ”

“ _Futo: The Jerkiest_ ”

“ _S_ _eiga: The Jerkiester_ ”

“ _That farmer that didn’t kick my ass for stealing his carrots_ ”

“ _Mamizou_ ”

Byakuren almost snorted at the last one. “My, Mamizou and you aren’t very close, are you?”

“Nuh-uh.” Seija said with a huff.

Byakuren chuckled.

They reached the end of the hall and went right.

Here the doors were in considerably better condition than the previous ones. The wood that held them together looked sturdier. The designs on the screen doors were more intricate and beautiful.

“ _Marisa_ ”

“ _Nue_ ”

“ _My favorite jacket_ ”

“ _Nazrin_ ”

“ _That person that saved my ass that one time_ ”

The next hallway was nearly pitch black. Byakuren slowed her pace. She didn’t want to stumble, especially with Seija in her arms.

She continued on down this hallway without scanning the signs.

The next hallway was almost identical to the previous.

The one after that, however, changed significantly. It was longer than any of the previous ones had been, and was completely doorless. Byakuren glanced down at Seija nervously.

“Did we take the wrong turn?” She asked.

Seija merely shook her head and put the tips of her index finger and middle finger in her mouth.

Byakuren continued down this hallway for quite a bit, it was longer than expected and seemed to stretch on longer than seemingly possible.

At the end of it she was met again with more hallways.

Without hesitation, Seija pointed to her right. Byakuren followed, also without hesitation.

Here, the doors looked as if they were fit to belong to a palace. They were made of precious materiel such as marble and jade with designs in what looked to be gold etched onto them.

“ _Ichirin_ ”

“ _Kyouko_ ”

Curiously boards were blocking off the pure white pearl door that was next to Kyouko’s. Under the sign that said “ _Shin_ ” There was another sign that seemed to be hastily scribbled in what looked like mud. It read, “ _Keep out!!!!_ ”

Byakuren frowned at it, but did as the sign requested, and moved on.

The next door beside Shin’s was made out of what looked to be fogged emerald.

Byakuren stopped in her tracks when she saw the sign.

“ _Mom_ ”

 

* * *

 

 

_AN: HEy, yeah, I know this chapter was late, I'm really sorry, I really was hoping to get a lot of work done with this, but things kind of were really rough the past 2 weeks so I'm sorry about that_

_BUT I PUSHED THROUGH AND THIS IS UP TODAY so I hope at least that's something_

_Really winding down here, I'm really excited and also really stuck in this weird nostalgic sadness that it's going to be ending, but it was a good run. I'm really proud of myself for how far I've come and how much I've dedicated myself into this so of course I'm going to be sad when it's over_

_Anyway, thanks to the usual bunch, Purvis, Chris, Noe, Aaron, Liz, Toad, and you [ winks x49 ]_

_Thanks_


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